Bengal Governor sends ‘excessively harsh’ Aparajita Bill back to state govt

Kolkata: The Aparajita Women and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill, which was passed in the Bengal assembly in September 2024, has been sent back to the state government by Governor CV Ananda Bose, following “certain objections” by the Centre.

The central government has reportedly found certain provisions in the bill “excessively harsh”.

“The Centre has reportedly noted the proposal of amendment to Section 64 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) to increase the punishment for rape from a minimum of 10 years to life imprisonment for the remainder of the convict’s life or the death penalty as excessively harsh and disproportionate,” people in the know said.

The other controversial change is the proposed deletion of Section 65, which currently provides stricter penalties for the rape of girls aged under 16 and 12, sources said. The Aparajita Women and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill, passed in the state assembly last year, had proposed increase of punishment for rape from the existing minimum of 10 years under the BNS to life imprisonment for the remainder of one’s life or death.

The West Bengal assembly had unanimously passed the bill after the rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor at Kolkata’s state government-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9, 2024.

The Bengal government, however, maintained it has not received any intimation from the central government or the governor’s office yet.Trinamool spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said that the Centre must approve the Aparajita Bill as the chief minister has vowed to punish the rape accused with stringent punishment.