Bengal govt plans bill against mob assault, lynching
Titled the West Bengal (Prevention of Lynching) Bill 2019, the legislation aims “to provide for effective protection of the constitutional rights of vulnerable persons and to prevent the lynching and to punish acts of lynching in the state”.
The Mamata Banerjee government is planning to table a draft bill to check mob assaults and lynching in Bengal, and pitch for life imprisonment plus a ₹5 lakh fine as punishment for causing the death of a person, senior officials who did not wish to be named said.
Titled the West Bengal (Prevention of Lynching) Bill 2019, the legislation aims “to provide for effective protection of the constitutional rights of vulnerable persons and to prevent the lynching and to punish acts of lynching in the state”, according to a copy of the draft bill circulated on WhatsApp and seen by HT. The draft bill could be tabled in the assembly as early as August 30, officials with knowledge of the matter said. Manipur and Rajasthan have already passed anti-lynching legislation.
Three categories of punishment have been proposed in the draft anti-lynching bill for Bengal. If an act leads to the victim “suffering hurt”, the perpetrator could be sent to jail for a maximum of three years and slapped a fine of ₹1 lakh. If the victim suffers “grievous hurt”, the punishment may extend up to 10 years and the fine go up to ₹3 lakh. In case of death of the victim, the perpetrator could be given “rigorous imprisonment for life and fine up to ₹5 lakh”. Besides, any person involved in a conspiracy to lynch another person or who abets an act of lynching shall be “punished in the same manner as if he had himself committed lynching”.