Jagan Mohan Reddy's Government Approves Disha Bill, Justice For Rape In 21 Days!

The Andhra Pradesh Cabinet cleared the A.P. Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2019 (aka A.P. Disha Bill, 2019) on Wednesday which will give the verdict and trial for rape and gang-rape cases in 21 days, allowing to award death penalty for such offences.

The cabinet also accepted to introduce A.P. Special Court for Specified Offences against Women and Children Bill, 2019. It will primarily deal with offences against women and children like rape, gang-rape, acid attack, stalking, voyeurism, sexual harassment and cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, reports The Hindu.

The government also plans to amend IPC Section 354 and bring Section 354 (e) to make it a crime to insult the opposite sex on social media. If amended, it would mean 2 years jail to the convict. Repeating the offense would make it 4 years, reports The New Indian Express. Section 354 (f) increases the sentence for molestation and sexual assault to a minimum of 5 years and maximum of 7 years.

This bill makes sure that when provided with adequate evidence, the investigation and trial will complete in 7 and 14 working days, respectively. Earlier the total judgement time was 4 months and now it has been reduced to 21 days, said an anonymous official, reports The Hindu.