West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose on Friday (September 6, 2024) referred the Aparajita Woman and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill, 2024 for the consideration of the President of India Droupadi Murmu.
“On receipt of a mandatory technical report from the Govt. of West Bengal, Governor has referred the Aparajita Bill for consideration of the President of India,” the Raj Bhawan said, in a statement.
The Bill seeks to amend the Bharatiya Nyaya Samhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Adhiniyam, and the POCSO Act, adding provisions to impose the death penalty for different kinds of rape. It was unanimously passed in the State Assembly on September 3.
Threats of protest
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had threatened to launch protests outside the Raj Bhawan if the Governor did not give his consent to the Bill. During the Assembly’s debate on the Bill, Ms. Banerjee had even urged the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislators to request the Governor to pass the Bill.
On Thursday, Raj Bhawan sources had said that the Governor has sought a technical report from the State government over the report.
Even as the Raj Bhawan has sent the Bill to the President, the communication from Raj Bhawan said that the “Governor took umbrage at the intimidatory stance of the CM and admonished the government for their failure in observing legal and constitutional proprieties.”
“At the end of acrimonious debates, mutual accusations, political threats and ultimatum, the Chief Minister had threatened dharna outside of Raj Bhavan if the Bill is not assented to by the Governor. The Governor took umbrage at the intimidatory stance of the CM and admonished the government for their failure in observing legal and constitutional proprieties,” a communication from Raj Bhawan said.
Defects in the Bill
Earlier in the day, the State’s Chief Secretary Manoj Pant called on the Governor and made the technical report available to him. According to Raj Bhawan, the West Bengal Bill will join the lot of other similar Bills pending with the President, from Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh.
“Governor has pointed out the omissions and commissions in the hurriedly passed Bill. He warned the Govt. ‘Don’t act in haste and repent at leisure’,” the Raj Bhawan communication said.
Observing that people cannot wait till the Bill is implemented, the Governor also pointed out the glaring defects and lapses in the Bill and advised the government to do its homework instead of going in for knee-jerk responses.
Published - September 06, 2024 10:24 pm IST
