The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday passed the Anti-Hijacking Bill, 2014, which provides for death penalty even if ground handling staff and airport personnel are killed during such acts.
In the earlier Bill, hijackers could be tried for death penalty only in the event of death of hostages, such as flight crew, passengers and security personnel.
The amendments in the Anti-Hijacking Bill, 2014 were cleared by the Cabinet In July 2015. Besides broadening the definition of hijacking, it also provides for an enhanced punishment to the perpetrators as well as the area of jurisdiction.
Following the amendments, the perpetrators of hijacking would now be punishable with death penalty where such an act result in the death of any person. The Anti-Hijacking Bill 2014, introduced in Rajya Sabha in December 2014, was referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture.