The new state bill against sex crimes, expected to be tabled by the Mamata Banerjee government in the special Assembly session on Tuesday, will not only propose capital punishment for rapists but will also mandate that trials for sexual crime be completed within a specific period.
According to officials of the state law department, the bill will classify all rape incidents — even if the victim survives — as equivalent to murder, proposing either the death penalty or life imprisonment of the perpetrator.
In cases of rape and murder, it will mandate the death penalty, besides a hefty fine imposed on the perpetrator’s family.
The bill also proposes to shorten the judgment period, stipulating verdict-delivery within 15 working days from the date of the offence in cases with substantial, conclusive evidence.
The Disha Bill, 2019, introduced by the Andhra Pradesh government, also has the provision to complete the process of judgment within 21 working days, but it has been lying with the President for approval.
The current judgment period under the Nirbhaya Act, 2013, and the Criminal Amendment Act, 2018, is four months, with two months allocated for investigation and two months for the trial.
"This (Bengal) bill has some unique features. This is for the first time that an incident of rape will be treated as a case of murder and will be tried as per the provisions of law. Secondly, all the rape or rape and murder cases should be heard in fast-track courts," a source in the state law department said
The bill mandates that the victim’s medical examination must be conducted within six hours of reporting the crime, and the accused must undergo a medical examination immediately after arrest.
"Any incident of rape has two aspects — the investigative and judicial processes — and the bill includes provisions to ensure that both work simultaneously to prevent any delays in delivering justice to the victim or her family,” the official said.
However, some constitutional experts are not very hopeful about the outcome of the bill.
“Criminal law is a subject in the concurrent list of the Constitution. While the state legislature is competent to make amendments, investigation and the process of judgment cannot be timebound. It depends on many factors and cannot be executed within a stipulated time frame,” former Supreme Court judge Justice Asok Kumar Ganguly said.
"Chief minister Mamata Banerjee is trying to divert the attention of the people from the RG Kar rape case. It is a political gimmick,” Justice Ganguly added.
When asked about the proposed bill, an official in the know of things said: “The Disha Bill 2019 (Andhra Pradesh) and Maharashtra Shakti Bill 2020 provides death penalty for rape and gang rape which according to the Supreme Court violates the fundamental rights of equality before law (Article 14) and right to life (Article 21). However, in our anti-rape bill there is an option of capital punishment and life imprisonment which allows that court to exercise its power of discretion."
Current Indian criminal laws permit the death penalty for gang rape of girls aged under 18, for rape or gang rape of girls below 12, or if the rape results in death or leaves the victim in a vegetative state, and for repeat offenders.