Shakti bill denied Centre nod

The opposition has renewed calls for a quick nod to the legislation in the wake of the alleged rape of a woman in a Maharashtra State Transport Corporation (MSRTC) bus at the Swargate bus depot in Pune

Mumbai: The union government has returned the Shakti bill, which mooted stringent punishment for crimes against women, to the Maharashtra government without the final nod, Hindustan Times has learnt from reliable sources.

Shakti bill denied Centre nod

“The central government has asked us whether we still want to go ahead with bill after the amendment in the three criminal laws in 2023,’’ an officer told HT.

While the bill was passed unanimously by the state legislature in 2021 and sent to the President for approval, the opposition has renewed calls for a quick nod to the legislation in the wake of the alleged rape of a woman in a Maharashtra State Transport Corporation (MSRTC) bus at the Swargate bus depot in Pune earlier this month.

The bill, known formally as Shakti Criminal Laws (Maharashtra Amendment Bill), was modelled on Andhra Pradesh’s Disha Act. It introduced amendments to certain sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act to ensure strict punishment for certain crimes against women. The quantum of punishment for acid attacks on women and sexual assault on minor girls was increased, and completing probe within 30 days of a complaint being registered was made mandatory.

After the state government sent the bill to the centre for approval in March 2022, it received multiple queries. The government replied to all the queries, only to receive fresh communication last year, asking if the law was at all required after the overhaul in the three criminal laws.

The three laws—Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and Bharatiya Sakshaya Act (BSA)—replaced the British-era IPC, CrPC and the Indian Evidence Act, respectively.