After the recent heinous rape and murder case in Kolkata, the controversy over the Aparajita Bill introduced by the West Bengal government is deepening. The Mamata government, which is facing all-round criticism over the rape and murder of a female trainee doctor at RG Kar Hospital, on Tuesday introduced the ‘Aparajita Bill’ for strict laws in cases like rape. It was passed in the West Bengal Assembly. Now the victim’s family lawyer Vikas Ranjan Bhattacharya on Wednesday has termed the bill introduced by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as useless.
CPM leader and Rajya Sabha MP Ranjan Bhattacharya said that this bill is actually a political front against the central government, and not an attempt to seriously target the problem of sexual violence. He alleged that the Aparajita bill is just a superficial measure and an attempt is being made to hide the depth of the issue.
Bhattacharya said, “The government (Mamata government) has the legislative power and hence it has introduced a bill, but it is completely useless. No agency can complete an investigation in a limited time, cannot start a trial and end it in such a short time. This bill has been drafted to provide an opportunity to fight against the Centre as it is unlikely to get assent from the President.”
It is noteworthy that the West Bengal Assembly on Tuesday unanimously approved the Aparajita Women and Child (West Bengal Criminal Law Amendment) Bill, 2024. Under this bill, it is proposed to make the death penalty mandatory in cases of rape and murder. Apart from this, in cases like rape, the bill also provides for the establishment of special courts and special task forces which will hear and investigate cases of sexual violence. Let us tell you that this bill has been introduced amid massive protests after the rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata last month.
This bill, presented by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, proposes changes in several sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Under the Aparajita Bill, there is a provision of life imprisonment for rape, gang rape, acid attack and repeat offenders. If the victim dies due to rape or is left in a permanently disabled condition, then life imprisonment or a minimum of 20 years of punishment including death penalty has been proposed. At the same time, there is a provision of three to five years of jail sentence for revealing the identity of the victim in the Aparajita Bill. The introduction of this bill has created a new controversy in the politics of West Bengal and it will be interesting to see whether this bill will be implemented.
