Now, snatchers face up to 14-year RI in Chandigarh

Centre extends Haryana law to UT; convicted snatchers to go in jail for at least 5 years; at present, maximum sentence is just 3 years

Snatchers now face at least five years of rigorous imprisonment in Chandigarh. In case, they cause an injury to the victim, the sentence can go up to 14 years.

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On Tuesday, the ministry of home affairs (MHA), under Section 87 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, notified the extension of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Haryana Amendment) Act, 2014, to the Union Territory of Chandigarh.

At present, the maximum sentence is of only three years. The stricter law is expected to act as a strong deterrent and bring down the number of snatching cases. This year, as many as 118 cases have been reported. In a number of cases, it has come to light that the accused are repeat offenders.

In May this year, the MHA had extended the anti-snatching law of Haryana — Indian Penal Code (Haryana Amendment) Act, 2014 — to the UT. For almost two years, the Centre was sitting on Chandigarh Police’s request sent in July 2017 for amending the IPC sections concerning snatching.

The matter was also discussed at length in the Punjab and Haryana high court during the hearing on a petition concerning rise in snatching cases last year. The HC had even summoned the senior superintendent of police.

However, the new amendment stood futile as the UT police had failed to send a request to make relevant changes in the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). Haryana had made both the amendments together in 2015. While the IPC lists out penal provisions for various offences, the CrPC contains procedures for administering law.

Later, the UT sent a proposal for extending the Haryana’s amended CrPC provisions too.

The change was mandatory to give effect to amended punishment. So far, snatching cases in Chandigarh are tried by the lowest court of the duty magistrate, which can only pronounce a punishment of up to three years.

After the IPC amendment carrying stringent sections, the offence was to be made triable in the sessions court, which is the highest court of the district. Any sentencing above seven years can be pronounced by the sessions court only.

Now, after the MHA’s Tuesday notification, Sections 379A (snatching) and 379B (snatching with hurt or wrongful restraint or fear of hurt) of the IPC will be applicable in Chandigarh too. So far, snatchers were booked under Sections 379 (theft) and 356 (assault or criminal force in attempt to commit theft of property carried by a person).

“The enhanced punishment for snatching will act as a deterrent,” said advocate Ajay Jagga. “Also by making the offence cognisable, it will be mandatory for police to file an FIR in snatching, without preliminary inquiry. Even refusal to register an FIR, on the ground of jurisdiction of police station, can tantamount to dereliction of duty. The information of cognisable offence would have to be recorded and forwarded to the police station concerned.”