The Mamata Banerjee Government in West Bengal is planning to introduce a stringent Bill in the Legislative Assembly to check incidents of mob assault and lynching in the State, sources said on Tuesday.
The West Bengal (Prevention of Lynching) Bill, 2019 is likely to be tabled in the House on August 30, they said.
"The bill aims to protect the constitutional rights of vulnerable persons and prevent incidents of lynching. It also proposes action against those involved in perpetrating the crime," a senior TMC minister said.
As per the legislation, if anyone is found guilty of publishing, communicating and disseminating any offensive material either physically or electroncally, shall be liable to imprisonment upto one year and fine upto Rs 50,000, the minister said giving a broad outline of the bill.
"Whoever contributes or enforces a hostile environment on a person or a group of persons shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend upto three years," the senior TMC minister said.
The legislation will pitch for a jail term, which may vary from three years to life, for those involved in assaulting and injuring a victim of mob violence.
In case of death, those responsible for the incident would be punished with rigorous life imprisonment and fine up to Rs 5 lakh, he said.
"As per the bill, the state director general of police will appoint a coordinator, who will act as a nodal officer to monitor and take measures to prevent incidents of lynching," the minister added.
As per the objects and reasons of the bill, the Constitution of India gurantees to all persons the right to life and personal liberty and equal protection of law, in recent times, there have been trends towards mob lynching in different parts of the country.
"The Supreme court has recomemded for enacting legislation in this regard. Therefore it is proposed to nip the evil in the bud and to prevent spreading of hatred or incitement to mob lynching by creating special offences against such mob lynching," the bill states.