KOLKATA: In what appears to be a setback for the West Bengal Government, President Droupadi Murmu has recently sent the ‘Aparajita Bill’, passed in the West Bengal State Assembly last year, back to Raj Bhavan, Kolkata, after raising a few questions, sources said on Friday. Subsequently, West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose sent back the bill to the office of the Assembly Speaker.
Governor of West Bengal Dr CV Ananda Bose had reserved ‘The Aparajita Women and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill, 2024’ for the consideration of the Hon’ble President of India. The Government of India has since conveyed its observations on certain amendments proposed to the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 through this Bill, highly placed sources in Raj Bhavan informed.
“One of the proposed amendments seeks to enhance the punishment for rape under Section 64 of the BNS, 2023, raising it from the existing minimum of 10 years to life imprisonment for the remainder of one’s life or death. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has termed this change as excessively harsh and disproportionate,” sources said.
Another proposed amendment seeks to delete Section 65 of the BNS, 2023.
“Thereby it is removing the distinction in punishment for rape of women under 16 and 12 years of age. The MHA has observed that the removal of such classification violates the principle of proportionality in sentencing,” sources revealed.
Additionally, the Bill proposes to make the death penalty mandatory for cases involving the victim’s death or persistent vegetative state under Section 66 of the BNS.
“The MHA has raised concerns over the removal of judicial discretion in such cases,” sources added.
Last August, a junior woman doctor’s body was found in the Emergency Buildings of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. Later, investigations revealed that she was raped and murdered. After that gruesome incident, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had announced that a special session of the state Assembly would be convened to bring strict laws to prevent such rape and murder incident in West Bengal.
Subsequently, a special session of the Assembly was held in the first week of September where ‘The Aparajita Women and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill, 2024’ was introduced, discussed and passed. Then it was sent to Raj Bhavan for approval. The Governor sent the bill to the President for her assent.
Earlier this year, a Trinamool Congress delegation met President Murmu and requested the speedy passage of the Aparajita Bill. Later, Trinamool Congress women MPs also went to the breakfast function at Rashtrapati Bhavan at the invitation of the President and made the same demand.