State misses molest law lead
Mamata Govt Sat On Rights Body Prod To Make Molestation Non-Bailable
Saibal Sen TNN 07.02.2013
Kolkata: The Centre has marked molestation as a non-bailable offence following the recommendations of the Justice Verma Commission but very few know that the West Bengal Human Rights Commission had mooted the proposal a year back.
The Mamata Banerjee government had been sitting on the committee’s recommendations, missing out in the process a rare opportunity to showcase that Bengal can lead from the front in areas that really matter.
On April 20, 2012, former Supreme Court judge and WBHRC chairman Asoke Ganguly had made the same recommendation to the Mamata Banerjee government to curb incidents of molestation in Bengal. But the government did not pay heed.
Now, the same proposals figure in the Justice Verma Commission report and have been icorporated in the Criminal Law Amendment (Ordinance), 2013.
Justice Ganguly’s proposals to the Mamata Banerjee government had been specific on two counts — to make molestation a non-bailable offence and increase the minimum sentence to five years with a maximum term of seven years. The proposal also sought to impress that should a court impose any lesser sentence, the reasons have to be specified in the judgment.
“I am happy that the spirit of our proposals have found reflection in amendments,” Justice Ganguly told TOI.
Justice Ganguly’s proposals had been based on the National Crime Records Bureau’s data till 2011, which pointed out that molestation cases in Bengal had increased almost tenfold since 1990 — from 357 cases to 3320. Earlier, Section 354 IPC (that dealt with molestation) defined the offence as a cognisable but bailable offence. The rights body chairman, while making the recommendations to the government a year ago, had cited the instances of two states — Madhya Pradesh and Odisha — that amended the IPC section and also the criminal procedure code, redefining molestation as a non-bailable offence.
That wasn’t all. The commission chairman also felt the need to redefine rape because in some cases it is difficult to prove a rape charge in court though persons accused of molestation are convicted. The courts then had no alternative but to give minor imprisonment to the accused, leading to “social imbalance and injustice”.
The state government didn’t set aside the recommendation but didn’t accept it either. Instead, it left the issue pending on grounds that it was “considering” the proposals. But then, it was last year.
“It only shows how the state government is apathetic to human rights. Though the commission’s recommendations are not binding on the government, in this case it could have at least taken a lead,” Justice Ganguly said from New Delhi.
WHAT BENGAL THOUGHT LAST YEAR...
RECOMMENDATIONS OF WEST BENGAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
Make molestation non-bailable
Increase minimum sentence to five years and maximum to seven years
Should a court impose a lesser sentence, the reasons have to be specified in the judgment.
Need to redefine rape because in some cases it is difficult to prove a rape charge in court
Increase minimum sentence to five years and maximum to seven years
Should a court impose a lesser sentence, the reasons have to be specified in the judgment.
Need to redefine rape because in some cases it is difficult to prove a rape charge in court
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