Governor Returns Aparajita Bill To Bengal Government, Trinamool May Protest

West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose has sent back the Aparajita Women and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill, 2024 to the state government.

As the Mamata Banerjee government faced public heat over the RG Hospital rape and murder case last year, the state had passed the an anti-rape bill in the assembly to enhance punishment, ensure speedy probe and rapid dispensation of justice for sexual assault cases.

The bill was tabled by the chief minister less than a month after a junior doctor was allegedly raped and murdered inside the seminar hall of RG Kar College and Hospital, run by the West Bengal government.

This bill was referred to the President by the governor but has now been returned to the state.

The reasons cited are while the bill proposes increase in punishment for rape from a minimum 10 years to life imprisonment for the remainder of one's life or death, the proposed punishment is "disproportionate and excessively harsh."

The other proposal of the bill deleting Section 65, which distinguishes between rape of women under 16 years and 12 years was also turned down. The objection stated was,"Removal of this classification violates the principle of proportionality, as the same punishment for different degrees of offence is legally inappropriate."

The proposed bill also made the death penalty mandatory in cases where the victim dies or is left in a persistent vegetative state. However, that too was objected as mandatory death penalty violates the Supreme Court's precedent (especially Mithu vs Punjab, 1983), which ruled that judicial discretion in sentencing is essential.

When questioned about women safety and security in the state since the RG Kar case and the recent Kasba Law College student rape incident, ministers and Trinamool Congress leaders said they would raise the Aparajita anti-rape bill.

With the bill now being returned, Trinamool state general secretary Kunal Ghosh said this would be met with protests.

"Why did the Centre return the Aparajita Bill to the state? Did they object, labeling the death penalty for rape and murder as an excessively cruel punishment?" he said.

"Details are being sought. If this is true, there will be strong protests. Mamata Banerjee has the strictest stance on women's safety. On the other hand, the BJP's mentality has now become clear," Mr Ghosh said.