Centre’s decision to decriminalise suicide has a far reaching impact in the North-East. The move has cheered the people of Manipur as the people of the State, in particular, and people of the region are now hoping that human rights activist Irom Chanu Sharmila will now be released.
It may be mentioned here that the Central Government has decided to decriminalise “attempt to suicide” by deleting Section 309 of the Indian Penal Code from the statute book.
Union Minister of State for Home Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary on Wednesday said this while replying to a question in Rajya Sabha and informed the House that the Government had decided to drop Section 309 from the IPC after 18 States and four Union Territories backed the recommendation of the law Commission of India in this regard.
He said that the law Commission of India, in its 210th Report, had recommended that Section 309 (attempt to commit suicide) of IPC needs to be effaced from the statute book. The Centre has taken the decision after taking into consideration the views of 18 States and four Union Territory administrations, who had supported that Section 309 of the IPC may be deleted.
“We are hopeful now that Sharmila will be released from jail. She is supposed to appear in the court next week over her detention. This will add new spirit to our movement against the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and we are going to intensify our agitation against the draconian law,” said Irom Shinghajit, brother of Irom Sharmila.