The pitch is growing louder for stricter laws against rape as politicians and activists are demanding quick and effective justice even as three anti-rape bills await the President of India’s nod. On September 2, while West Bengal passed the Aparajita Bill, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) working president Supriya Sule staged a protest against the President’s delay in approving the Shakti Bill passed by the Maharashtra legislature in 2020.
It may seem ironical that at a time when cases of heinous sexual crimes against women are flooding the news every day, three anti-rape bills that seek strict punishment for the culprits are still awaiting approval from the President. The bills that need the President’s nod are the Aparajita Woman and Child Bill passed by West Bengal and the Disha and Shakti Bill
Shaken by the rape and murder of a young doctor Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, the West Bengal Assembly, on September 3, 2024, passed the ‘Aparajita Woman and Child Bill (West Bengal Criminal Laws and Amendment) Bill 2024’ to amend provisions in existing laws to provide for stricter punishment for crimes against women and children.
While speaking in the Assembly, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said: “Rape is a now a national shame. Let us come together for social reform which is needed to prevent rapes.”
The Bill tweaks section 64 in the Bharatiya Nyay Samhita (BNS) and enhances the jail term to the “remainder of that person’s natural life and fine, or with death”. Additionally, it adds that this fine shall be fair and reasonable to meet the victim’s medical expenses and rehabilitation costs. The Bengal Bill proposes death penalty for rape resulting in the victim’s death or causing her to be in a vegetative state, while the existing Section 66 of the BNS allows for 20 years jail term, life imprisonment, and death for such a crime. In the cases of gangrape, the Bill seeks to amend Section 70 of BNS, increasing the punishment from 20 years to life imprisonment and death for those convicted of gangrape. The Bengal legislation also toughens the punishments in child abuse cases as laid down by the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The proposed legislation seeks to penalise printing or publishing of any matter relating to court proceedings without permission with a punishment of “imprisonment of three to five years and fine”. The Bill mandates that a probe and trial must be completed within 21 days, with a possible extension of up to 15 days. The extension must be justified by a senior police officer. Trials in all sex crimes and acid attacks must be completed within 30 days. The Aparajita Bill legislation also includes provisions for setting up special courts to hear sexual violence cases and task forces to investigate them.
The legislation, while moved by the ruling Trinamool Congress, was unanimously passed but requires President Droupadi Murmu’s assent before it can come into force.
However, this is not the first time that a state assembly had tried to seek President’s assent regarding an anti-rape bill. The Andhra Pradesh Disha Bill 2019 and Shakti Bill passed by Maharashtra in 2020, both introduced in India in the wake of high-profile cases of sexual violence against women, demanding strict punishment, are still awaiting a nod from the President.
Both bills mandate death penalty for certain offenses against women, such as rape and gang rape. Additionally, both bills provide for the establishment of special courts to handle cases of violence against women and children. While the Shakti Bill was largely modelled after the Disha Bill, there were some minor differences in the specific provisions and timelines for investigations and trials. “Politics is involved in delaying the approval for the bill as a lot of MPs in BJP are accused in rape cases. The BJP fears that if this bill gets implemented, the death penalty will also apply to them as well,” says Vidya Chavan, Chief Spokesperson of the NCP (SP).
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