Latest news with #AparajitaWomenandChild


Time of India
3 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
"Home Ministry raised certain queries": Bengal Governor on returning Aparajita Bill to state govt
West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose has returned the Aparajita Women and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill to the state government for reconsideration, citing serious objections raised by the Centre. Speaking to on Saturday, he said that it is the Governor's constitutional obligation to either give assent to the bill or return it to the Assembly. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category MCA Artificial Intelligence Data Analytics Data Science Healthcare CXO Public Policy Finance Cybersecurity Others Design Thinking Leadership Technology Digital Marketing Management Degree Operations Management healthcare MBA PGDM Data Science others Project Management Product Management Skills you'll gain: Programming Proficiency Data Handling & Analysis Cybersecurity Awareness & Skills Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning Duration: 24 Months Vellore Institute of Technology VIT Master of Computer Applications Starts on Aug 14, 2024 Get Details "It's a constitutional obligation of the Governor to either give assent to the bill, return it to the Assembly for reconsideration, or send it to the President for reserve. Given its broader implications, I reserved it for the President of India. Now the Home Ministry has raised certain queries, which I have also taken up with the state government for their response," said Bose. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Knee Pain? This Morning Trick Helps Wellnee Undo The Bill, passed unanimously by the West Bengal Assembly in September 2024, aims to enhance punishment for rape and sexual offences . The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has flagged multiple provisions in the Bill as "excessively harsh and disproportionate". The MHA has raised concerns about removing judicial discretion in sentencing, citing Supreme Court rulings that stress the importance of retaining judicial discretion. Live Events The Centre is of the view that removing stricter penalties for sexual assault of minors could weaken protections for vulnerable groups. Reacting to the Governor's move on Saturday, the father of the RG Kar rape and murder victim accused Kolkata Police of tampering with evidence and failing to act in his daughter's case. He told ANI, "Kolkata Police did nothing in my daughter's case except for evidence tampering... There was no provision for evidence tampering in this bill. It will not matter to us whether the bill is passed or not." He also criticised Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee , alleging that the bill was introduced in the Assembly to "deceive the people" of the state. "The Chief Minister introduced this bill in the Assembly to deceive the people of West Bengal. She also sent it to the Governor and the President. But they rejected the bill, which is a good thing," he said. Earlier on Thursday, Governor CV Ananda Bose sent back the Aparajita Women and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill, 2024, to the state government. The bill proposes the death penalty or life imprisonment for those convicted of rape and seeks to amend sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the new criminal code. The West Bengal Legislative Assembly had unanimously passed the Aparajita Bill on September 3, 2024. The Bill was sent to President Droupadi Murmu by the Governor on September 6, 2024. The legislation passed, following the rape and murder of a doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, provides for the death penalty in five categories of offences - rape, rape by a police officer or public servant, rape causing death or resulting in a persistent vegetative state, gang rape, and repeat offenders. According to Raj Bhawan officials, the bill proposes making the death penalty mandatory in cases where the victim dies or is left in a vegetative state under Section 66 of the BNS. The Bill also proposes to delete Section 65 of the BNS, 2023, thereby eliminating the distinction in punishment for the rape of women under 16 and under 12 years of age, according to Raj Bhawan.


The Print
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Print
Want Bengal govt to respond to Centre's queries on Aparajita Bill: Guv
The West Bengal assembly had unanimously passed the Aparajita Women and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill nearly a month after the alleged rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9, 2024. He also said the Bill was larger in its context and content, and thus required an examination from the President. Kolkata, Jul 26 (PTI) A day after he sent the Aparajita Bill back to the West Bengal government, Governor CV Ananda Bose on Saturday said that he wanted the state administration to respond to the Centre's objections to the legislation. 'The Aparajita Bill was larger in its context and content. Therefore, I thought that it was something that required the examination of the President of India. Now, the Government of India (GoI) has raised certain queries, which I have asked the state government to answer. I want the state government to be fully involved in this,' he said. Bose sent the Aparajita Bill back to the state government for consideration of the serious objections raised by the Centre over the proposed changes to the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita that the legislation seeks, a Raj Bhavan source had said on Friday. According to the source, the Centre, in its observation, found that the Aparajita Women and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill, passed in the assembly in September 2024, seeks changes in punishment for rape under multiple sections of the BNS that are 'excessively harsh and disproportionate', the source had said. The Bill proposes enhancement 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. 'There are three options before a governor. First is to give ascent to the Bill. Many Bills I had given ascent because these were very good in every respect, Constitutional within the law of the land. 'The second option is that the Bill can be sent back to the Assembly for reconsideration with certain suggestions, or without suggestions. Once passed by the Assembly, the Bill comes back to the Governor, and he has to give assent to the Bill. The third option is to refer it to the President of India,' Bose told reporters at the Raj Bhavan here. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had 'flagged multiple provisions in the Bill as problematic', the source had said. 'After taking note of the MHA observation, the Governor has referred those for appropriate consideration to the state government,' the source added. PTI SCH BDC This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.


News18
4 days ago
- Politics
- News18
Want Bengal govt to respond to Centres queries on Aparajita Bill: Guv
Kolkata, Jul 26 (PTI) A day after he sent the Aparajita Bill back to the West Bengal government, Governor CV Ananda Bose on Saturday said that he wanted the state administration to respond to the Centre's objections to the legislation. He also said the Bill was larger in its context and content, and thus required an examination from the President. The West Bengal assembly had unanimously passed the Aparajita Women and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill nearly a month after the alleged rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9, 2024. 'The Aparajita Bill was larger in its context and content. Therefore, I thought that it was something that required the examination of the President of India. Now, the Government of India (GoI) has raised certain queries, which I have asked the state government to answer. I want the state government to be fully involved in this," he said. Bose sent the Aparajita Bill back to the state government for consideration of the serious objections raised by the Centre over the proposed changes to the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita that the legislation seeks, a Raj Bhavan source had said on Friday. According to the source, the Centre, in its observation, found that the Aparajita Women and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill, passed in the assembly in September 2024, seeks changes in punishment for rape under multiple sections of the BNS that are 'excessively harsh and disproportionate", the source had said. The Bill proposes enhancement 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. 'There are three options before a governor. First is to give ascent to the Bill. Many Bills I had given ascent because these were very good in every respect, Constitutional within the law of the land. 'The second option is that the Bill can be sent back to the Assembly for reconsideration with certain suggestions, or without suggestions. Once passed by the Assembly, the Bill comes back to the Governor, and he has to give assent to the Bill. The third option is to refer it to the President of India," Bose told reporters at the Raj Bhavan here. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had 'flagged multiple provisions in the Bill as problematic", the source had said. 'After taking note of the MHA observation, the Governor has referred those for appropriate consideration to the state government," the source added. PTI SCH BDC view comments First Published: July 26, 2025, 22:45 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.


Hans India
4 days ago
- Politics
- Hans India
Bengal Governor confirms sending back 'Aparajita Bill' to Mamata govt for reconsideration
Kolkata: West Bengal Governor, C.V. Ananda Bose on Saturday brought an end to the confusion over contradictory information regarding sending back of Aparajita Women and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill -- meant for harshest of punishment for accused in cases of rape and rape and murder -- to the state government for reconsideration. Earlier, an information regarding this was passed on to the media on Friday by a section of the insiders in Raj Bhavan. It was claimed that the Governor has sent the Bill back to the state government for reconsideration following serious objections raised by the Union Government. However, confusion started surfacing over the development, since none in the state or within the ruling Trinamool Congress were agreeing to accept that the said Bill has been referred back to the state government for reconsideration. On Saturday evening, while interacting with the media persons at Raj Bhavan in Kolkata, the Governor brought an end to the confusion, saying that he had to send back the Bill back to the state government for reconsideration following serious objections raised by the Union Government. 'There are three options for the government when a Bill is sent from the Assembly secretariat for the Governor's assent. The first is that the Governor could give assent to that Bill, which I have done in several cases. The second option is that the Governor can send the Bill back to the assembly authorities, raising queries and suggesting changes. But in that case, if the assembly resends the bill to the Governor without making any change, the Governor has no other option but to give assent to the Bill,' Bose said. He added that the third option for the Governor was to send the Bill for consideration of the Office of the Indian President, which he did in case of the Aparajita Bill. 'Now, the Union government has some queries about certain provisions in the Aparajita Bill, and so it has been sent back to the state government for reconsideration,' the Governor added. The Bill was passed on the floor of the West Bengal assembly last year amid the ghastly tape and murder of a lady junior doctor at the state-run R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata within the hospital premises. Subsequently, the office of the West Bengal Governor forwarded the Bill to the office of President Droupadi Murmu for the latter's consideration. Now, with information surfacing about the Bill being sent back to the state government for reconsideration, uncertainties have started surfacing over the fate of the Bill. The said Bill has provisions for completion of investigation in such cases in 21 days and filing of chargesheets within 30 days. In the Bill, there are provisions for quick completion of the trial process in the matter, as well as some proposed additions in the provisions under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POSCO) Act.


NDTV
4 days ago
- Politics
- NDTV
RG Kar Victim's Father Calls Aparajita Bill 'Deceptive,' Accuses Police Of Evidence Tampering
The father of the RG Kar rape and murder victim accused Kolkata Police of tampering with evidence and failing to act in his daughter's case, while reacting to the Aparajita Women and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill. Speaking to ANI, he said, "... Kolkata Police did nothing in my daughter's case except for evidence tampering... There was no provision for evidence tampering in this bill. It will not matter to us whether the bill is passed or not..." He also criticised Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, alleging that the bill was introduced in the Assembly to "deceive the people" of the state. "...The Chief Minister introduced this bill in the Assembly to deceive the people of West Bengal. She also sent it to the Governor and the President. But they rejected the bill, which is a good thing," he said. On Thursday, West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose sent back the Aparajita Women and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill, 2024, to the state government. The bill proposes the death penalty or life imprisonment for those convicted of rape and seeks to amend sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the new criminal code. The West Bengal Legislative Assembly had unanimously passed the Aparajita Bill on September 3, 2024. The Bill was sent to President Droupadi Murmu by the Governor on September 6, 2024. The legislation was passed following the rape and murder of a doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, which provides for the death penalty in five categories of offences -- rape, rape by a police officer or public servant, rape causing death or resulting in a persistent vegetative state, gang rape, and repeat offenders. According to Raj Bhawan officials, the bill proposes making the death penalty mandatory in cases where the victim dies or is left in a vegetative state under Section 66 of the BNS. The Bill also proposes to delete Section 65 of the BNS, 2023, thereby eliminating the distinction in punishment for the rape of women under 16 and under 12 years of age, according to Raj Bhawan. The development comes amid repeated appeals by the Trinamool Congress government urging the Union government to grant assent to the Bill. A delegation of Trinamool Congress MPs met President Droupadi Murmu on February 13 to press for early approval of the legislation. Certain legal experts had described the Aparajita Bill as a knee-jerk response by the West Bengal government. Earlier, the father of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital rape and murder victim spoke out against the alleged gangrape case in Kolkata's law college, expressing his frustration and disappointment with the recurring incidents of violence. He accused the government of having a significant role to play in preventing such incidents and that the accused should be severely punished. He said, "Such incidents are happening again and again. After what happened with my daughter, many people came out on the streets in protest. Even after that, such incidents continue to occur. People inside the college are committing such incidents. The government has a significant role in this, which is why all these incidents are happening. All three people arrested are from the TMC, so this political party should ensure that such incidents do not happen again. The accused should be severely punished."