THE JHARKHAND STORY DESK
Kolkata, September 3: The West Bengal government passed the ‘Aparajita Woman and Child Bill (West Bengal Criminal Laws and Amendment) 2024 in the Assembly on Tuesday.
This bill includes provisions for the death penalty for those convicted of rape and murder, regardless of the victim’s age. The opposition party, BJP, has also supported this bill.
The bill demanding amendments to relevant provisions under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita 2023, and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act 2012 (POCSO) will apply to victims of all ages.
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Proposals of the Aparajita Bill
As per the bill, those convicted of rape and murder will be sentenced to life imprisonment. This means they will spend their entire lives in prison and will not be released after a few years. The bill will also include provisions for financial penalties.
The bill proposes reducing the deadline for completing rape-related investigations from two months to 21 days. Additionally, it promises that a verdict will be delivered within one month of preparing the chargesheet in such cases.
The bill also stipulates that anyone who publishes information related to court proceedings or reveals the identity of the victim in these cases could face imprisonment for three to five years.
Bill passed in response to RG Kar Hospital doctor’s rape-murder
Last month, a female doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital was murdered after being raped.
In the wake of nationwide protests against this heinous incident, the proposed bill was introduced by the state’s Law Minister Moloy Ghatak.
Following this, a discussion on the bill took place, with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee participating in the debate in the state assembly.
