An amendment bill the state government is poised to introduce in the Assembly on Tuesday proposes to treat all rapes of children the same, prescribing a life term or death regardless of how old or young the minor victim is.

“Imprisonment for life”, the Aparajita Women and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws) Amendment Bill 2024 says, will mean imprisonment for the remainder of the convict’s natural life. There will also be a fine.

A death sentence will be awarded in case of a particularly brutal attack, for instance, one that leaves the under-18 rape victim in a vegetative state.

These changes will be effected by amending the Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act, 2012.

The bill also stipulates that a victim’s medical expenses will be determined by the special rape court that will try the case, and borne by the convict or their family. If they fail to pay up, the amount will be recovered through legal means.

As for the rapes of adults, as reported in this newspaper on Monday, the bill considers them equivalent to murder – even if the victim has survived – and prescribes a life term or death.

Since they seek to tweak central laws, the amendments will need the President’s assent once they are passed in the Assembly.

The bill mandates that rape investigations be completed within 21 days of the initial report, down from the previous two-month timeframe.

The three-week investigation deadline can be extended by up to 15 days, if an officer not below the rank of SP or equivalent documents the reasons in writing in the case diary.

The bill also proposes that judgments be pronounced within a month of the framing of the chargesheet.

Previously, Section 4 of the Pocso Act stipulated 20 years’ jail for penetrative sexual assault if the victim was under 16, and 10 years’ imprisonment if the victim was between 16 and 18. The bill proposes life imprisonment for all accused.

In case of “aggravated sexual offences” where the offender commits sexual assault or penetrative sexual assault on a child and then makes the child strip or parade her naked in public, the bill proposes a life term or death, and a fine. Currently, Section 6 of the Pocso Act prescribes rigorous imprisonment of not less than 20 years for such crimes.

The bill also proposes to abolish “certain portions of the new Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) Act 2023” that too deal with the rape of minors, a legal officer at the state law department said.

He cited Sections 65(1), 65(2), and 70(2), which outline the punishments for the rape of girls aged under 16, 12 and 18 years, respectively.

For girls under 12 and those between 12 and 16 years, the BNS prescribes rigorous imprisonment of not less than 20 years and a fine. For the gang rape of a woman under 18, it prescribes a life term.

The bill proposes to delete these sections, establishing a uniform pattern of punishment for all rapists.