The West Bengal Assembly has unanimously passed the anti-rape bill introduced by the Mamata Banerjee government on September 3. In the special session of the Rajya Sabha, TMC leader and state Law Minister Moloy Ghatak introduced the ‘Vulnerable Women and Child Rights (West Bengal Criminal Law Amendment) Act 2024’ in the House. To pass this bill, the Mamata Banerjee-led government had called a special session, in which there is a provision to give the death penalty to those guilty of rape if their actions result in the victim dying or becoming unconscious.
The bill has been brought after the rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor at the Government Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. The state is committed to upholding the fundamental rights of its citizens, especially women, and children, and to ensure that perpetrators of rape or other crimes against children are brought to justice with the full force of the law, the bill states. Should be brought to the dock.
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Provisions Of The Bill:
1. Death penalty: One of the important provisions of the Bill is that Revealing the identity of the victim and punishing them is related to crimes involving the use of acid by criminals.
2. Amendments to BNS, 2023: The bill proposes changes in sections 64, 66, 70(1), 71, 72(1), 73, 124(1) and 124(2), which relate to rape, rape with murder and gang rape. It deals with disclosure of the identity of the victim and penalties for offenses committed by perpetrators of crimes involving the use of acid.
3. Life imprisonment: The Bill proposes that those found guilty of rape and gang rape will be given life imprisonment, which is defined as imprisonment for the remainder of the life of a person found guilty of the crime. The bill proposes life imprisonment with a fine or the death penalty in serious cases for repeat offenders.
4. Quick Investigation: Bill proposes must complete the initial rape investigation within 21 days. The time limit for investigation under the current law is 2 months.
5. Fast track courts: The Bill proposes to set up special courts and investigation teams. The Bill states that necessary resources and expertise will be equipped to effectively and timely deal with cases of rape and sexual offenses against children, thereby reducing the trauma experienced by the victims and their families.
6. Special Task Force: The task force will be headed by a Deputy Superintendent of Police. The bill also proposes setting up of Aparajita Task Force at the district level to investigate cases of rape or atrocities against women and children.
