West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose has criticized the state government for failing to send a necessary technical report along with the recently passed anti-rape Bill, known as the Aparajita Bill. This report is required for the governor to consider granting assent to the Bill.
Bose expressed disappointment, noting that this issue has been a recurring problem. The state government often neglects to include technical reports with Bills and then blames the governor’s office for delays in approval, according to a Raj Bhavan official.
The official explained that it is mandatory for the state government to provide the technical report before the governor can make a decision on the Bill. This situation is not new, and Bose has previously criticized the administration for similar lapses.
Additionally, the governor pointed out that the Aparajita Bill seems to be a “copy-paste” of similar legislation from Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Arunachal Pradesh. Bose also suggested that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s threat to stage a dharna (protest) might be a ploy to mislead the public, given that similar Bills are still awaiting approval from the President of India.
The West Bengal Assembly passed the Aparajita Woman and Child Bill (West Bengal Criminal Laws and Amendment) Bill 2024 on September 3. The Bill proposes capital punishment for rape convicts if their actions result in the victim’s death or a vegetative state, and life imprisonment without parole for other offenders. It also aims to expedite rape investigations by completing probes within 21 days, down from the previous two-month deadline, and establishes a special task force led by female officers for such cases.
