Mumbai: In a significant move, Shiv Sena legislator Pratap Sarnaik has requested Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to emulate Andhra Pradesh (AP) cabinet which has cleared the Disha Bill-2019 (criminal law {amendment } Bill which paves way for awarding death penalty for the offences of rape and gang rape and expediting the verdict in trial of such cases to 21 days.
In a letter to the chief minister, Sarnaik sought directions in context to study the proposed laws by the Andhra government seeking amendments 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.
Sarnaik has requested the legislation to be tabled in the upcoming winter session of the legislature, scheduled to be held in Nagpur from December 16.
Apart from expediting verdicts in trial of rape cases, the Andhra government has also rolled up its sleeve to introduce sections in the IPC for dealing with harassment of women through social media and sexual assault of children.
