Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s government will introduce the Aparajita Woman and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill, 2024 on Tuesday in the state Legislative Assembly.

The bill will be tabled amid widespread protests across Calcutta and Bengal following the rape and murder of a 31-year-old postgraduate trainee doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on the intervening night of August 8 and 9.

The bill includes the provision of the death penalty for person/s committing rape and inflicting injury which causes death or causes the victim to be in a vegetative state.

The bill also includes a provision for time-bound investigation in rape cases and seeks to penalise publishing without permission any matter related to court proceedings in such cases.

The bit about court proceedings gains significance in light of the negative publicity the state government has been receiving in reports on proceedings in the high court as well as the Supreme Court in the RG Kar rape-murder case. The government’s lawyers have been hauled up by judges in both the courts.

In the aftermath of the outrage over the RG Kar incident, Mamata had promised a stringent law for dealing with sexual offences in the state of Bengal.

The state government had in July formed a committee to consider changes to the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita and the Bharatiya Nagarik Surakasha Sanhita introduced by the Centre to replace the colonial era criminal laws.

“Whereas it is expedient to amend the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, in their application to the State of West Bengal,” says the bill, a copy of which The Telegraph Online has seen.

Provisions for death and fines as well as imprisonment for the remainder of the convict’s life will also be applicable in cases of rape, gang-rape and also repeat offenders.

Any person who discloses the identity of the victim of “certain offences” will be punished with imprisonment for three to five years and a fine.

Printing and publishing of any matter related to the court proceedings without permission will also be a punishable offence with imprisonment for three to five years.

Those convicted of causing grievous hurt by use of acid will be imprisoned for life.

All the above offences, except for disclosure of victim’s identity and reporting on court proceedings without permission, will be non-bailable.

Under the statement of objects and reasons behind introducing the new law, the state government argues: “The instant bill aims to create a safer environment for women and children in the state by amending and proposing new provisions related to the offence of rape and sexual offences against children.

“The state government of West Bengal perceives the egregious act of rape of women and sexual offences against children, regardless of their age, as the utmost violation of their dignity, irrespective of the status of the perpetrator vis-à-vis the victim or the condition of the victim caused by such rape of the woman and the sexual offences against the child,” the bill reads.

It adds: “The state government of West Bengal firmly believes that by maximising the punishment of the act of rape of women and sexual offences against children, the Bill shall deter such deplorable acts and ensure the perpetrators face exemplary and severe consequences for their crimes.”

The Bengal government has also kept the provision for setting up a special court for “expeditious completion of inquiry or trial of specified offence” and also a task force at the district level, which will be called the Aparajita Task Force, headed by an officer of the level of deputy superintendent of police.

The task force’s duty will be to probe the specified offences committed against women and children; the task force will be led preferably by a female police officer.

Any officer who fails to assist the investigating officer or causes delay or intentionally omits to provide assistance shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to Rs 5 thousand or with both, according to the bill.

In case the investigation cannot be completed within 21 days of the filing of the complaint, the time for the probe will be extended by not more than 15 days, according to the bill.