The Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government has tabled the Aparajita Woman and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill, 2024, on Tuesday in a special session of the state assembly.
The bill seeks to bring amendments to central laws dealing with offences of rape, gang-rape, and sexual assault.
The bill was introduced by state Law Minister Moloy Ghatak.
In the wake of the RG Kar incident, which led to widespread protests across the nation, the state government has decided to come up with the bill.
What is the bill?
The state cabinet on August 28 approved a proposal to introduce a new bill aimed at preventing rape and ensuring stricter punishments for such crimes.
As per official documents, the bill seeks to punish “persons committing an offence of rape and inflicting injury which causes death or causes the woman to be in a vegetative state” with the death penalty.
Titled the ‘Aparajita Woman and Child Bill (West Bengal Criminal Laws and Amendment) Bill 2024,’ the legislation aims to strengthen protections for women and children by revising and introducing new provisions related to rape and sexual offences.
The bill is aimed at amending the existing provisions under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO)Act, 2012, the state seeks expeditious investigation and trial of the heinous act of violence against women and children.”
What are the provisions of the Bill?
As per the official documents, the bill includes a provision for the death penalty for “persons committing an offence of rape and inflicting injury which causes death or causes the woman to be in a vegetative state.”
Additionally, for repeat offenders — those who have committed similar crimes in the past — the punishment will also be life imprisonment or, in severe cases, the death penalty along with a financial fine.
It further includes a provision about time-bound investigation in rape cases. It also seeks to penalise publishing without permission any matter related to court proceedings in such cases.
The provisions of the draft bill on the investigation and prosecution process stipulates that the probes into the rape cases shall be completed within 21 days of the initial report from the earlier two-month deadline.
The bill allows for a potential extension of up to 15 additional days, provided that a police officer of rank Superintendent of Police (SP) or equivalent records a valid reason in writing in the case diary maintained under section 192 of BNSS, 2023.
The bill also seeks to set up fast-track courts for rape cases. “To expedite investigations and ensure swift justice for victims, this bill proposes dedicated special courts and investigation teams. These specialised units will be equipped with the necessary resources and expertise to handle cases of rape of women and sexual offences against children efficiently, effectively and timely, thereby minimising the trauma experienced by victims and their families”.
‘Aparajita Task Force’ will be constituted to investigate cases of rape or atrocities on women and children. The task force will be formed at the district level and headed by a deputy superintendent of police for the investigation.
Amendments to BNS 2023
The bill seeks to amend several sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) 2023, which pertains to punishments for various crimes. Specifically, it proposes changes to sections 64, 66, 70(1), 71, 72(1), 73, 124(1), and 124(2), which deal with punishments for rape, rape combined with murder, gang-rape, offenses committed by repeat offenders, the disclosure of a victim’s identity, and crimes involving the use of acid.
The bill also suggests omitting certain sections (65(1), 65(2), and 70(2)) that relate to the punishment of perpetrators of varying ages, thus streamlining the legal process and focusing on the gravity of the crime rather than the age of the offender.
What do the legal experts think?
Legal experts have, reportedly, said that state government’s move to introduce an anti-rape bill in the state Assembly was constitutionally valid, but it will require presidential assent for it to become a law.
Any amendment brought by the state would prescribe punishments incompatible with what is prescribed under the new criminal laws of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and will require presidential assent under Article 254(2) of the Constitution.
Article 254(2) allows a state legislature to pass a law that contradicts a central law on a matter in the concurrent list, but only if the state law receives presidential assent. This means that the state law will prevail in that state, even if it is different from the central law as long as it has been approved by the President.
The Andhra Pradesh Disha Bill of 2019 and the Maharashtra Shakti Bill of 2020 had only one penalty — mandatory death — for all rape and gang-rape cases. Both were passed unanimously by the state legislatures; but neither has got presidential assent till date.
Follow us
