West Bengal Governor sends anti-rape bill to President for consideration
New Delhi: West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose has referred to the Anti-rape billapproved by the state assembly, President of India for consideration. The bill titled Aparajita Woman and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill 2024 includes provisions for capital punishment and harsher penalties for rape and sexual harassment.
Earlier, it had been sent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. While the standard protocol is that any bill passed by the assembly is sent to the governor for assent, sending it to the prime minister or the home minister is unprecedented.
Bose had earlier criticised the Mamata Banerjee administration for “not submitting” the technical report along with the recently passed anti-rape bill, which is required to give it its assent, an official said.
“The governor criticised the state administration for not attaching the technical report along with the Aparajita Bill. As per the rule, it is mandatory for the state government to submit the technical report before taking a decision on passing the bill,” the Raj Bhavan official told PTI on Thursday.
“Mr Bose has pointed out that the (Aparajita) Bill appears to be a copy-paste of similar Bills passed by Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Arunachal Pradesh,” he said.
The Aparajita bill was approved unanimously
The Bengal Assembly on Tuesday unanimously passed the anti-rape bill brought by the Trinamool Congress government after the opposition extended its full support to it. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the anti-rape bill brought in the state assembly, which proposes death penalty for those convicted of rape if their actions lead to the death of the victim or a vegetative state, is “historic”.
The West Bengal Chief Minister added, “To implement the Bill, please ask the Governor to sign it. Our state is in the third position in terms of fast track courts. In the Kamdhuni case, we had sought capital punishment, the Supreme Court opposed the High Court and the matter is pending. No one is talking about what happened in Unnao, the Hathras victim did not get justice…”
Normally, the governor’s signature turns the bill into law or, if further deliberation is needed, the bill is sent to the president for a final decision. The move to send the bill to the prime minister and the king was unprecedented, but House Speaker Biman Banerjee said there was nothing out of the ordinary.
He said, “What is so unconventional about it? The Bill has been sent to the highest administrative offices of the country for their information and appropriate action. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had also mentioned this on the floor of the House.”
What’s next?
The Aparajita Bill needs the President’s assent to become law. There have been similar bills in the past – the Andhra Pradesh Disha Bill, 2019, and the Maharashtra Shakti Bill, 2020 – which made death penalty mandatory for all cases of rape and gang rape. Both the bills, passed unanimously by the respective state legislatures, are yet to receive the President’s assent.
On Thursday, CM Banerjee met Law Minister Moloy Ghatak, Chief Secretary Manoj Pant, DGP Rajeev Kumar and other officials to discuss the implementation of the Aparajita Bill. Banerjee told the officials to prepare for orientation training of police officers. However, the officials felt that it would take time before the Bill is enacted.
What is the Aparajita Bill?
The bill proposes severe punishments, including the death penalty, for convicted rapists, especially in cases where the crime results in the death of the victim or leaves her in a vegetative state.
The bill seeks to amend key sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023, a penal law recently introduced by the central government. It also includes provisions to impose harsher punishments on repeat offenders, who could be sentenced to life imprisonment or even death.
The bill comes days after the horrific rape and murder of a 31-year-old junior doctor at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, which triggered massive protests across the country. Thousands of doctors took to the streets to demand a safer environment and strict action against the culprits.
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