Skip to main content

West Bengal death penalty bill 'an attempt to deflect attention from widespread protests'

By Kirity Roy* 
The West Bengal government has put forth a new anti-rape bill that aims to impose capital punishment on individuals convicted of rape in cases where the victim dies or is left in a vegetative state. The West Bengal Legislative Assembly passed this controversial bill, titled 'Aparajita Woman and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill, 2024,' with support from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the primary opposition party in the region. 
This legislation has emerged in the wake of the tragic rape and murder of a trainee doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. This horrifying incident, which took place on August 9, 2024, has shaken the nation's conscience. The brutal attack on a 31-year-old doctor at her workplace has highlighted significant failures within the State Health Department, the police investigation, and the broader administrative framework in West Bengal. 
In response to this egregious act and the persistent demands for justice from citizens across the state, the West Bengal government introduced this bill, which many view as an attempt to deflect attention from the widespread protests against the systemic failures that allowed such violence to occur. 
However, the introduction of the death penalty does not provide a comprehensive solution to the issue of crime, as it fails to tackle the underlying causes and intricacies of criminal behavior. There is no solid empirical evidence to suggest that capital punishment effectively deters crime. A civilized society cannot accept the notion of retribution through execution, as it merely perpetuates a cycle of violence. 
Both Article 21 of the Indian Constitution and Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights underscore the right to life, liberty, and personal security, all of which are violated by the death penalty. To date, 112 countries have abolished capital punishment in all circumstances, while an additional 9 have done so for common law offenses, and 23 other nations are in the process of eliminating it. Nonetheless, 55 countries, including India, maintain the death penalty. 
In the aftermath of the Nirbhaya rape and murder case, the Justice Verma Committee recommended against the death penalty
It is crucial to recognize that the fight for women’s rights is intrinsically linked to the struggle against systemic patriarchy in India. It is disheartening to see laws, courts, parliaments, and governmental bodies perpetuate a flawed system that fails to protect the vulnerable. 
In the aftermath of the Nirbhaya rape and murder case, the Justice Verma Committee recommended against the death penalty, stating, "In the larger interests of society, and considering current sentiments favoring the abolition of the death penalty, we are not inclined to recommend such a punishment." Yet, ruling political parties continue to advocate for capital punishment as a means of delivering justice for personal and political agendas. 
Mahatma Gandhi’s poignant assertion that “an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind” serves as a crucial reminder that violence cannot resolve violence. The cycle of revenge and state-sanctioned killings only exacerbates existing societal issues. True leadership should prioritize reconciliation over retribution. 
---
*Secretary of Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM); National Convenor for the Programme Against Custodial Torture & Impunity (PACTI)

Comments

Post a Comment

TRENDING

Xi Jinping’s visit to USA: Recognition that China can't be contained?

By Vijay Prashad   President Xi Jinping’s forthcoming visit to the United States must be understood as more than an encounter between two heads of state, but it must be seen as an encounter between two possible futures. In one future, the United States imposes a spiral of confrontation against China. Trade disputes harden into economic warfare, then economic warfare intensifies into technological blockades, technological blockades produce military encirclement, and finally military encirclement creates incidents, and incidents the danger of becoming an unimaginable war.
Post a Comment
»

Swaminarayan, untouchability and the 'we are not Hindu' argument

By Rajiv Shah   Following my blog on why the Eiffel Tower authorities should take all the blame for giving in to the Swaminarayan sadhus ’ bizarre demand to “invisibilise” women, including its female staff, during their visit to the internationally renowned Paris tourist centre on September 5, an interesting comment by one of the top academics drew my attention to something I vaguely knew about one of India’s most powerful and richest religious sects.
Post a Comment
»

From margins to microphones: The rise of Dalit hip-hop in India

By Tersina Maria Toppo*  A protest does not always arrive as a slogan shouted from a street corner. Sometimes, it arrives on a beat. A microphone replaces the megaphone, a music video becomes a public square, and the smartphone becomes the space where a history once pushed to the margins is narrated, debated, and shared.
2 comments
»