The Government on Monday introduced the Criminal law (Amendment) Bill, 2018 in lok Sabha, providing for stringent punishment including death penalty for those convicted of raping girls below the age of 12 years.
This apart, the lok Sabha passed the amendment Bill on Negotiable Instruments Act for enabling speedy prosecution in cheque bounce cases and the legislation to amend the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) Act seeking to provide post-facto approval to those approved institutions which are funded by the Centre or states, but do not have recognition under the 1993 law.
The Government also moved the National Sports University Bill, 2018, in the lok Sabha to establish a specialised sports university in Manipur to promote various aspects of sports such as management, technology and coaching.
The Rajya Sabha, for its part, passed the bill proposing to grant a party the right to seek damages from the other side in case of a breach of a business contract and to reduce discretion of courts in such matters.
The amendment Bill, once approved by Parliament, will replace the Criminal law (Amendment) Ordinance promulgated on April 21, following an outcry over the rape and murder of a minor girl in Kathua in Jammu & Kashmir and the rape of another woman in Unnao in Uttar Pradesh. Introducing the Bill, Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said the recent incidents of rape and gang-rape of women under the age of 16 years and 12 years have shaken the conscience of the entire nation.
Therefore, the offences of rape and gang-rape of women under the age of 16 years and 12 years required effective deterrence through legal provisions of more stringent punishment, he said.
The Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Bill, which was passed by a voice vote, provides for allowing a court trying a cheque bounce offence to direct the drawer (person who writes the cheque) to pay interim compensation to the complainant. This interim compensation, not exceeding 20 per cent, may be paid under certain circumstances, including where the drawer pleads not guilty of the accusation within 60 days of the trial court's order to pay the compensation.
The amendment bill to the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) Act was to provide post-facto approval to those approved institutions which are funded by the Centre or states, but do not have recognition under the 1993 law. HRD Minister Prakash Javedekar said several state and central universities were running Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) and related courses, but do not have recognition.
Replying to the concerns raised by members, he said though the amendment was “small, but it rectifies a major error”. The Parliament even passed a bill proposing to grant a party the right to seek damages from the other side in case of a breach of a business contract and to reduce discretion of courts in such matters. The Specific Relief (Amendment) Bill, 2018, which was passed in the lok Sabha in March, was cleared in the Upper House by a voice vote this afternoon. The bill aims to tweak a 54-year-old law that deals with specific fulfilment of a contract, as part of the government's ease of doing business policy.
In Rajya Sabha, the opposition members insisted for sending the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill and the bill to amend the Ancient Monuments and Archeological Sites and Remains Act to Select Committee for further debates. The Bill has already been passed by lok Sabha but the opposition leaders insisted on their demands. Government agreed to send the amendment bill on archeological sites to the Select Committee.
Opposition parties, including the Congress, opposed the proposed amendments to the Motor Vehicles Act in the Rajya Sabha, saying it would help the corporates and dilute the powers of the state governments. The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, which has already been passed by the lok Sabha, was introduced in the Upper House in April 2017 but was referred to a select panel. After taking into account the panel's recommendation, the bill was re-introduced in the Rajya Sabha.