Banerjee should make mandatory provisions for disposal of rape, statutory rape and murder cases within a time-bound manner. (Photo: PTI)
Union Minister Annapurna Devi on Friday said the existing laws were strict enough to tackle violence and crimes against women and urged the West Bengal government to implement them “in letter and spirit”.
In a letter to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, her second in a week, Devi, the Union Minister for Women and Child Development, said the state government has failed to operationalise 11 additional Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) to specifically deal with rape cases and POCSO cases.
Devi said West Bengal has set up 88 Fast Track Courts (FTCs), which are not the same as the Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) covered under the Central Government Scheme.
Banerjee on Friday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, reiterating her demand for strict central legislation and exemplary punishment for heinous crimes like rape and murder.
Banerjee, who wrote to Modi a few days ago on the issue following the national uproar over the rape and murder of a doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on August 9, sought a mandatory provision for time-bound disposal of rape/rape and murder cases.
“Despite pendency of 48,600 rape and POCSO cases in West Bengal, the State has not operationalised 11 additional FTSCs which can be either exclusive POCSO courts or combined FTSCs dealing with both rape and POCSO cases, as per the requirement of the State,” the Union Minister said in the letter to Banerjee.
“As can be seen, the information contained in your letter in this regard is factually incorrect and appears to be a step in the direction of covering up the delays in operationalisation of the FTSC by the state,” Devi said.
Commenting on Banerjee’s remark on the need to post permanent judicial officers in the FTSCs, the Union minister said the guidelines of the scheme clearly state that one judicial officer and seven staff members will work exclusively for adjudication of rape and POCSO cases.
“Therefore, no additional charge of FTSC can be given to any permanent judicial officer or any staff member of the court. This situation was clarified earlier in West Bengal,” Devi said.
He said that in case of insufficient manpower, states and Union Territories have the option to recruit judicial officers and court staff on contractual basis under the FTSC scheme.
“As regards strict laws and exemplary punishments for heinous crimes like rape and murder, I reiterate my earlier communication conveying that strict punishments for rape and murder already exist in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS),” the Minister said.
Devi said the laws adopted by the central government are comprehensive and strict enough to address violence and crimes against women.
“If the state government follows the central legislations in letter and spirit, it will certainly have a lasting impact in strengthening the criminal justice system, making the perpetrators of such crimes face consequences commensurate with the crime and also ensuring justice to the victims or survivors,” the Union Minister said.
“I once again request you to ensure proper sensitisation and positive approach by all those responsible at appropriate levels to ensure proper handling of the cases with due care and attention to achieve their purpose within the time frame prescribed in the statutes,” Devi said.
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
First published: August 31, 2024 | 7:29 a.m. IS
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