to the participation of wom6n in politics, no seats were specifically reserved The Equal Remuneration Act had been in force for 14 years, and the for them. extremely limited amount of litigation concerning alleged violations of that Aat seemed to indicate that its provisions were rarely violated. Reports of destruction of femalo foatuses were alarming, and the Qovernment was currently developing an information csmpaign against the practice of identifying the sex of foetuses and aborting them on the basis of their sez* 276. With respect to the treatment of aliens, the Supreme Court had recently and particularly the provisions of ruled that the rights of Indian citizens, article 14 of the Covenant, would also apply to foreigners who were legally in the territory of India, with certain exceptions regarding the acquisition of property. 277. In connection with that issue, members of the Committee wished to know how many persons were currently on death rowJ how much time elapsed normally between the imposition and the exttcution of the death sentence: whether, since the submission of the initial report, that penalty had been entended to new offences; what procedure was followed in cases where the death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment on grounds of delay: whether the death sentence could be imposed for crimes committed by person6 under 18 years of ageJ what the rules and regulations were governing the use of firearms by the police and security forces; whether there had been any violations of these rules and regulations and, if 60, what measures had been taken to prevent recurrences and what progress had b%en made in reducing infant mortality in the period under review. 270. In addition, infc.tmation was requested on measures taken to counter the increasingly widespread phenomenon of political killings and disappearances, as well as about allegations that thousands of people had lost their lives in ethnic strife and that many had been killed by member6 of the security forces. In the latter connection, it was asked what remedies were available in cases where a law enforcement officer had exceeded the term6 of his authority or when police officers had been involved in cases of death6 in custodyl whether the definition of an "assembly" within the terms of the Armed Forces (Special Pow%rs) Act coverad gatherings in private homest and whether law enforcement officers had been informed of the United Nations Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials. 279. Replying to questions raised in connection with the death penalty, the representative of the State party said that a condemned prisoner had a right to appeal to the Siigh Court and to the Supreme Court against a death sentence imposed by a 6e66iOn6 Court, and a right to appeal for clemency to the Governor of the particular state and to the President of India. If there was an undue delay between S%ntoii&ig and ezecution, the Supreme Court could commut%a death penalty to a life sentence. The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substance6 Act (1985), as amended in 1989, included th% pO66ibility of the imposition of a death sentence for repeat offence6 under the Act, A female child under the age of 18 years and a male child who had not attained the age of 16 years could not be sentenced to death. -7o-