NEW DELHI: On a day that Parliament wound up for the first half of the budget session, a delegation of mostly women MPs from Trinamool Congress, met with President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday, urging her to expedite the Aparajita Women and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill, 2024 – which seeks capital punishment for rape convicts – that was sent to her by West Bengal governor CV Ananda Bose on five months ago on September 6.
The Bill was passed at a special two-day session of the assembly, soon after the RG Kar medical college rape and murder case in Kolkata, in the wake of widespread protests from citizens political parties against the Mamata Banerjee government, following a case of rape and murder of a trainee doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9. Even opposition BJP that was protesting against the state government, supported the Bill in the House.
Thursday’s delegation, led by TMC parliamentary leaders Sudip Bandopadhyay (Lok Sabha) and Derek O’Brien (Rajya Sabha) included women MPs – Pratima Mondal, Sajda Ahmed, Mahua Moitra, Mitali Bag, June Maliah and Sayani Ghosh from Lok Sabha and Sagarika Ghosh, Dola Sen and Sushmita Deb from Rajya Sabha – who said they wanted to draw the President’s attention to the Bill that has been pending for over five months now.
On September 3, the Bengal assembly unanimously passed the bill, that seeks capital punishment for rape convicts if their actions result in the victim’s death or leave her in a vegetative state and life imprisonment without parole for other perpetrators.
After meeting with President Murmu, Bandopadhyay said, the delegation presented their demands to her and in response she assured them of looking into the matter, while speaking to the media.
“The Bill was passed unanimously by the West Bengal assembly, and the West Bengal governor reserved the Bill for the President’s consideration,” Mondal, a third term Lok Sabha MP, said. She explained that the governor had three options: to give assent to the Bill, withhold assent, or reserve the Bill for Presidential consideration, as was done in this case.
“This Bill seeks to mandate swift, streamlined procedures for handling rape cases, ensuring justice is neither delayed nor denied. By implementing clear timelines for investigation and trial, this Bill seeks to reinforce public trust and strengthen the deterrent against such heinous crimes,” she said.
Other significant features of the proposed legislation include the completion of investigations into rape cases within 21 days of the initial report, reduced from the previous two-month deadline and the establishment of a special task force where women officers will lead investigations.
With Bengal assembly elections slated for 2026, the Bill is likely to become a political rallying point for the ruling TMC and its main rival BJP in the state. While the legislation, will be seen as the TMC government having acted on the issue of women’s safety, if it cannot be implemented, the state government can be faulted for failing on the issue.
