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Informist, Tuesday, Sep 3, 2024

KOLKATA - The West Bengal Legislative Assembly today unanimously passed the Aparajita Women and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill, 2024, through a voice vote, in a two-day special session. In a rare move, the main Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party consented to the bill tabled by state Law Minister Moloy Ghatak of the Trinamool Congress.

The bill, which aims to strengthen protection for women and children by amending and introducing new provisions related to rape and sexual offences, will now be sent to President Droupadi Murmu for her assent. The bill will also be sent to West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose.

Assent of the president is mandatory as the bill amends criminal laws which are part of the Concurrent List. So, to implement the bill, the West Bengal government will need the assent of President Murmu.

In the past, the Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra Assemblies passed similar bills mandating the death penalty in rape and gangrape cases. However, so far, none of them have received the President's approval.

Commonly referred to as Aparajita, the bill proposes capital punishment for people convicted of rape if the victim dies or is left in a vegetative state. It also proposes life imprisonment without parole for those convicted of rape and gang rape.

The Aparajita Bill has proposed to revise Section 64 of the newly introduced Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita by stating that the jail term for convicts in rape and gang rape cases till death. Effectively, it proposes that a person convicted of the crime will spend the rest of his/her life behind bars.

It also proposes that a fair fine will be levied on the convict to cover medical expenses and rehabilitation costs of the victim. This section of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita lays down rigorous imprisonment, not less than 10 years, which may extend to a life term, for rape convicts.

The bill also proposes to modify Section 66 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita by making the death penalty the only punishment for rape convicts in case of the victim's death or if she is left in a vegetative state. This Section currently lays down a 20-year jail term, life imprisonment and death for such a crime.

For those convicted in gang rape cases, the Aparajita Bill proposes to amend Section 70 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita by stating that such convicts should get either a life term or the death penalty. The current provisions under this Section lay down a 20-year prison sentence for such convicts.

The legislation also modifies the penalty in cases where someone publicises the identity of the victim of sexual violence by laying down imprisonment for three to five years. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita has a provision for jail term of up to two years in such cases.

The bill also takes a tougher stand for cases related to child abuse and modifies certain provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.

Additionally, the bill sets a timeline whereby the police have to complete the rape and rape-and-murder investigation within 21 days from the initial report of the crime. The trial will be in fast-track courts for rape cases, and a special task force comprising women officers will lead investigations.

Following the rape and murder of an intern doctor at the R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on Aug 9, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee indicated last week that her government will bring in a bill which will "hang to death" the rapists convicted of such crimes. Banerjee said that her government wants the culprit in the RG Kar Hospital case to be hanged and will plead for capital punishment in the courts.

Ever since the incident, protests have erupted in the state with doctors, students, civil society activists, alumni organisations of schools, political parties, and others demanding justice for the victim, and that the perpetrators abetting the crime and other incidents of corruption be brought to justice.

Additionally, the protestors are demanding adequate safety and security in places of work and in the state. The junior doctors in the state have been on strike ever since the incident. Owing to the strike, hospitals are cancelling or delaying selective surgeries and there is a dearth of doctors and medical professionals at state-run hospitals.

Banerjee and her government have been under a barrage of salvos since the incident, facing criticism over police action, and cases of corruption. Apart from probing the rape and murder case, the Central Bureau of Investigation is also probing financial irregularities in the state's health and family welfare department. 

Sandip Ghosh, former principal of R.G. Kar Medical College, and a doctor by profession, has been arrested by the CBI, along with three others over allegations of financial irregularities.  End

Reported by Avishek Rakshit

Edited by Aditya Sakorkar

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