Mira Bhayandar: In the wake of rising number of heinous crimes like rape against women and minor girls, Shiv Sena legislator- Pratap Sarnaik has requested the President of India- Droupadi Murmu to give her final consent to enact the Shakti Act Amendment Bill paving way for awarding death penalty in offences of rape and gang-rape and expediting the verdict in trials of such cases to 21 days.
The Shakti Act bill toes the lines of the Disha Bill-2019 (criminal law amendment) passed by the Andhra Pradesh (AP) government incorporating amendment in the relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPc), along with new introductions, envisaging completion of investigation and trial in a time-bound manner, where there is adequate conclusive evidence, and reducing the total judgment time to 21 days for the offences of rape and gang-rape.
Based on the demands made by Sarnaik, the Shakti Bill was unanimously passed in the state assembly and legislative council on 23, December, 2021 and 24, December, 2021 respectively. “After a nod from both the legislative bodies, the bill was sent to her excellency-the President. However, it is understood that the bill is yet to receive a final approval. I have written a letter seeking final consent to the bill which will stop the abuse of women, youth and children in the state as no one would dare to commit such crimes.” said Sarnaik.
Notably, Andhra Pradesh became the first state in India to legislate punishment within the prescribed time limit (21 days) for those accused of atrocity against women. It was decided that the police should complete the investigation within 7 days and the court should also complete the hearing within 14 days after the complaint of harassment against a woman is filed in the police station.
Due to this law, if the crime is proved, within 21 days, the accused should be punished and the matter should be disposed of under AP’s Disha Law.
