Salman Khan discharged from hospital after a non-venomous snake bite, doing well 2
Bollywood Superstar Salman Khan on Sunday was discharged from a hospital after he was bitten by a non-venomous snake at his farmhouse near Panvel in the adjoining Raigad district, sources said.
According to sources, the snake bit Khan’s hand on Saturday night, following which he was taken to a hospital at Kamothe in Navi Mumbai. The actor was discharged on Sunday morning.
”Salman was bitten last night and taken to a hospital. He was discharged after six hours. He is back home and well,” sources close to the actor said.
Khan is back to his Panvel farmhouse, where he will be ringing in his 56th birthday on Monday.
He was recently seen on the big screen in ”Antim: The Final Truth”, which was released last month.
Australia's New South Wales sets new daily COVID case record 4
Australia’s most populous state reported a record number of new COVID-19 cases on Sunday and a sharp jump in hospitalizations while thousands of people were isolated at home after contracting the virus or coming into contact with someone who has.
New South Wales reported 6,394 new infections, up from 6,288 a day earlier. Case numbers in the state have surged over the past two weeks but hospitalizations have lagged behind new infections.
More than 70 per cent of cases in some Australian states are the omicron variant of the coronavirus but New South Wales does not routinely carry out genome testing to identify the variant. State Health Minister Brad Hazzard indicated Sunday that omicron is widespread.
“We would expect that pretty well everybody in New South Wales at some point will get omicron,” Hazzard said. “If we’re all going to get omicron, the best way to face it is when we have full vaccinations including our booster.” Health officials reported 458 active cases in hospitals across the state, up sharply from 388 the day before. There were 52 people in intensive care in New South Wales.
Victoria, the country’s second-most populous state, reported 1,608 new COVID-19 cases and two deaths on Sunday, with 374 people in hospitals, including 77 in intensive care.
More than 30,000 people in Victoria spent Christmas isolated at home, unable to celebrate with family or friends. Of those, about half were reported to be active cases who contracted the virus in the days leading up to Christmas.
Doctors and pharmacists in New South Wales have said they are running short of vaccine doses amid a rush for shots spurred by concern over the omicron variant.
The Maharashtra government might be of the opinion that the Shakti Bill is a landmark decision. The Shakti Bill has been tabled along the lines of the Disha Act, passed by the Andhra Pradesh legislature in February, which also carried harsher sentences including the death penalty for heinous crimes of violence against women and children, a 21-day deadline for the trial of cruel assault cases, and penalizing the harassment of women on digital and social media. The Shakti bill mandates investigation and filing of the charge sheet within 15 days and the trial to be completed in 30 days after filing of the charge sheet.
Some of the provisions are not only anti-women but negate the very offence of rape. The effect of this Bill will completely deny women any hope of justice. There are concerns about the alleged “presumption of consent” in offences of rape, the death penalty for those accused of rape and penetrative sexual assault against children as well as the provisions enabling action against supposedly false cases.
The Shakti bill proposes to amend the definition of rape to state that valid consent will be presumed if the two parties are adults and their conduct or circumstances suggest that there was consent or implied consent. The government is feeding into the patriarchal construction of consent and conduct of women. In a lot of cases of rape, the accused take the plea of consent [and] with such an explanation added it will become impossible for the prosecution to establish rape. Such an explanation negates and nullifies the very offence of rape.
The death penalty for such offences will be counter-productive since it is the certainty of investigation, trial and punishment rather than its severity that act as deterrents. The death penalty reduces conviction rates and rates of reporting, poses a danger of life to rape survivors and also causes mental trauma since sexual offences against children are often committed by persons known to the survivors.
The inclusion of punishment for allegedly false cases also disseminates the patriarchal notions of viewing women with suspicion as unworthy of being believed and likely to incriminate men in false cases for unscrupulous purposes. The proposed ‘Shakti law’ involves two bills — the Maharashtra Shakti Criminal Law (Maharashtra Amendment) Act, 2020, and the Special Court and Machinery for Implementation of Maharashtra Shakti Criminal Law, 2020. The draft legislation seeks amendments to the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC)and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act to include new offences, increase punishments and speedier investigations and trials.
While the introduction of stricter punishments might provide a delusion of justice, it is consistency in the implementation of the existing laws and not a mere increase in the strictness of punishments that will act as the real deterrent to rape. Certainty refers to the certitude of due process, celerity refers to the swiftness in the disposal of justice, and severity refers to the stringency of consequences that one would have to face as a result of committing an offense.
Though increasing the stringency of punishment might ensure the component of severity, it is only when offenders know that the punishment will be certain, swift and uniformly applicable irrespective of their socio-economic standing, can deterrence be ensured in the real sense. The realist school of thought talks about the concept of a ‘bad man’ who cares little about ethics and morals, and instead his actions are only dictated by whether or not they will lead to punishment. For such a person, deterrence can only be ensured if the state would have kept all three of these elements in mind while drafting legislation.
Moreover, the state must ensure the consistent and uniform application of existing laws, so as to prevent the inconsistent captivity of the members of marginalized communities. While the introduction of deadlines for the completion of investigation and trial is a step towards celerity, the government fails to recognise that adequate state machinery is a precursor to ensuring this swiftness. The recent reports regarding the vacancies in the Bombay High Court and the Maharashtra Police paint a grim picture. The Maharashtra Police is understaffed by 28,550 police officers, while the Bombay High Court only has 64 judges against the sanctioned strength of 94. Further, data reveals that 69% of all cases tried under the POCSO Act by the special courts took anywhere between 1 to 10 years, despite the fact that it provides for the completion of the trial within a year of taking cognizance of the offense wherever possible.
The token increase in the severity of punishments only acts as a consolation prize to a distressed populace. This is apparent from the fact that the same government, which introduces the death penalty for rape, does little to ensure the availability of well-equipped treatment centres and prevention mechanisms to deter sexual harassment. It is the need of the hour for the government to provide higher funds for the strengthening of law enforcement bodies, include sex education in school curriculums, and initiate a more open conversation about the significance of consent and what it really means.
Moreover, crimes like cat-calling, voyeurism, domestic violence, stalking, etc. should be dealt with seriously and society as a whole must stop disseminating cultural media that normalizes these forms of harassment. When we condone these ‘lesser’ forms of crimes, we empower the perpetrator to carry out more heinous crimes. Hence, the uncomfortable question that first needs to be addressed is what makes a person sufficiently desensitized to act on the desire to violate someone’s sexual sovereignty? While society seeks comfort in alienating the rapist, what we must contemplate over is, was the perpetrator born this way, or was he fashioned to be so?
In the end, the Shakti Bill of 2020 proposes to provide higher rigour as a trade-off against institutional reforms that are actually necessary in order to ensure real deterrence, by creating certainty of conviction. And while it is the right of the government to act as an engine for social change, the Shakti Bill appears to be a shallow attempt to appease the public, without actually bringing in any well imprinted out action, that would help in reforming the very society that creates that mammoth.
Threat to Aaditya: Malik suspects links to Sanatan Sanstha; Sanatan condemns Malik's allegations 16
Expressing serious concern over the death threats received by Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s son Aaditya Thackeray, state’s Skill Development Minister Nawab Malik on Thursday said they suspect it to be connected with the organisations responsible for the murders of activists Govind Pansare and Narendra Dabholkar.
“The manner in which Aaditya Thackeray received a threat letter, we suspect if it’s connected to the organisations that murdered (Narendra) Dabholkar and (Govind) Pansare,” Malik said.
“I too have received such threats. We have written for an investigation into it,” he added. The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader further said the culprits will soon be nabbed and punished for their guilt.
Jayesh Thali, Gomantak Mandir Mahasangh said, “The path of those who do good deeds is littered with obstacles; Obstacles always come in the way of good work. A spiritual organization like Sanatan has to endure the same kind of suffering which Sant Jnaneshwar Maharaj and Sant Tukaram Maharaj also had to endure earlier. However, I am sure that Sanatan Sanstha will overcome all these obstacles and definitely unfurl the flag of Dharma in the near future. I condemn the anti-Hindu political forces that are levelling false allegations against Sanatan.”
Sunil Ghanwat, Hindu Janajagruti Samiti co-ordinator said, “It is unfortunate that the riotous Raza Academy is being termed patriotic while there are calls to ban the patriotic Sanatan Sanstha. The present definition of secularism is to ‘defame Hindutva’ and indulge in ‘minority appeasement’. It is unfortunate that the political rulers have fallen victim to such pseudo-secularism and they consider the riotous Raza Academy ‘patriotic’ while calling for a ban on the patriotic Sanatan Sanstha. The rulers should bear in mind that Hindu organizations are representatives of Hindu society. Even if an attempt is made to ban Sanatan, the Hindu organizations in the state will not sit idly by.”
Advocate Nilesh Sangolkar, Hindu Vidhidnya Parishad said, “Sanatan Sanstha is a spiritual organization and this organization has always been a ‘soft target’. Unfortunately, today those who are serving Dharma are being criminalized. To date, no court has ruled that Sanatan Sanstha is guilty in any of the cases. It is a gross injustice to Sanatan to demand a ban on them over cases that are sub judice. As an advocate, I will continue to fight against the injustice that Sanatan faces.”
Hindu Mahasabha, Spokesperson Pramod Pandit said, “Just for the sake of an issue, these accusations are made. Sanatan Sanstha is a spiritual movement; they talk about cultural values and their practices. Most people are allergic to Sanstha just because of their staunch Hindu ideology. They are the dedicated voters of the BJP and the BJP also supports them. So, the UPA government arrested and convicted their activists but no guilt is proven against them till today.”
Ashwini Kulkarni, Surajya Abhiyan from Kolhapur said, “Sanatan is engaged in spreading spirituality in the society through satsangs, discourses, Balsanskar classes for children, spiritual texts etc. While religion and spirituality is not the domain of politicians, the allegations made by some political leaders against Sanatan Sanstha, which teaches Dharma, are very painful. It is condemnable that an organization like Sanatan is being made a proverbial sacrificial lamb for political one-upmanship.”
“I think it is a serious matter, after losing power, some organizations are behaving in this manner. The Home Department will probe it and find out who is behind it. They will be nabbed and punished,” said Malik.
The Mumbai Police Crime Branch’s cyber police have arrested a man in his 30s for allegedly sending death threats to Aaditya Thackeray, who is Tourism and Environment Minister in his father’s Cabinet. The man, arrested from Bengaluru, Karnataka, has been remanded to police custody after being brought to Mumbai on transit remand. The accused was arrested earlier on December 18 on the basis of technical evidence.
Chetan Rajhans, Spokesperson of Sanatan Sanstha said, “Sanatan Sanstha strongly condemns the threats received by Minister of State Aditya Thackeray. We demand that the perpetrators of these threats be dealt with severely. However, in the absence of any reference in this discussion and in the context of cases that have already been adjudicated, two ministers of Maharashtra, Nawab Malik and Chhagan Bhujbal have made baseless allegations on Sanatan Sanstha. Their allegations are false and politically motivated. The intention behind this is once again defaming a pro-Hindu organization and thereby defaming Hindutva. Despite restrictions during the Corona epidemic, thousands of activists at Raza Academy caused riots in Maharashtra. But Chhagan Bhujbal didn’t utter a word condemning it. When Congress workers gave an open threat to behead Jitendra Narayan Singh Tyagi (former Wasim Rizvi of Shia Waqf Board), Chhagan Bhujbal didn’t bother to say a word decrying it. But he is demanding a nationwide ban on Sanatan Sanstha without any evidence. An English proverb says ‘give a dog a bad name and hang it’. This is exactly what anti-Hindu forces are trying to do to Sanatan Sanstha. We strongly condemn it.”
Ajinkya Wani, Yuva Sena Vidhan Sabha Secretary said, “Aditya Thackeray a Cabinet Minister, and I think no one can ever think of being a threat to him. We are here to grapple with all the threats who took on our Leader. Nothing can even touch him.”
Subodh Acharya, Deputy Leader, Shiv Sena said, “No one should be a threat to the Thackerey family. We are Shiv Sainik and our youth wing is organized Yuva Sainik’s ‘just be there, is what I can react to this issue.”
Committed to cover all farmers in state under loan waiver scheme: Dy CM Pawar 18
The Maharashtra government on Friday told the Legislative Assembly that it was committed to covering all the farmers in the state under its loan waiver scheme, saying its implementation took a backseat due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Replying to a discussion on the issue during the Question Hour, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said that 31.81 lakh farmers are eligible to get the benefit of the state government’s Mahatma Jyotiba Phule farm loan waiver scheme.
”So far, Rs 20,290 crore has been disbursed. Eligible farmers, who are yet to get the benefit of loan waiver will be provided with the benefit of the scheme by making a provision of funds through supplementary demands in this session and later during the budget session,” the finance minister said.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government had promised a complete loan waiver of up to Rs 2 lakh after it came to power. If farmers with loans of more than Rs 2 lakh repay the additional amount, they will get a waiver of Rs two lakh. While those who regularly repay their dues, ex-gratia of Rs 50,000 will be provided, he said.
”The government is committed to fulfilling the assurance. The economic situation is not good due to COVID-19 lockdown as taxes more than Rs 1 lakh crore did not come to the state treasury,” Pawar added.
Reacting sharply to hate speeches allegedly made at a ‘Dharma Sansad’ held recently in Haridwar, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday demanded the strictest action against those who incite violence, saying such acts violate the Constitution and the law.
All-India Trinamool Congress national spokesperson Saket Gokhale has also demanded action against the organizers and the speakers of the ‘Dharma Sansad’ held in Haridwar, where “hate speeches” were allegedly made against Muslims.
He has lodged a complaint against it at the Jwalapur police station in Haridwar district.
Hitting out at the remarks made at the Haridwar conclave, Priyanka Gandhi said, “Strictest action should be taken against those who incite hatred and violence of this kind.” “It is despicable that they should get away with making an open call to murder our respected ex-PM and unleash violence against people of different communities,” she tweeted.
Such acts violate our Constitution and the law of our land, the Congress general secretary added.
Several opposition leaders, including those from the Congress and the TMC, had on Thursday condemned what they said was a “hate speech conclave” held in Haridwar and called for strict action against those involved.
Held at Ved Niketan Dham in Haridwar, the Dharma Sansad was organized by Yati Narasimhanand Giri of the Juna Akhada, who is already under police scanner for making hate speeches and inciting violence against Muslims.
Two Pakistani soldiers were killed in District Kech in Balochistan in an exchange of fire with terrorists on Friday. As per Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Lance Naik Manzar Abbas, Sepoy Abdul Fath was killed while defending a security check post in the area, reported Geo News.
The ISPR confirmed that a search operation is underway in the area to hunt the terrorists who had fled after the attack. “Security forces are determined to defeat such acts of inimical elements, aimed at disrupting the peace, stability and progress of Balochistan,” said the ISPR, reported Geo News.
Earlier this month, a Pakistan Army soldier was killed as well when terrorists targeted security forces check post along the Pakistan-Iran border in the Abdoi sector, Balochistan.
S. Korea's Moon pardons disgraced ex-president Park amid tight presidential race 23
South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in granted a pardon to former President Park Geun-hye, who was in prison after being convicted of corruption, the justice ministry said on Friday, amid a tight presidential race.
Park, 69, became South Korea’s first democratically elected leader to be thrown out of office when the Constitutional Court upheld a parliament vote in 2017 to impeach her over a scandal that also landed the heads of two conglomerates, including Samsung, in jail.
She was brought down after being found guilty of colluding with a friend to receive tens of billions of won from major conglomerates mostly to fund her friend’s family and nonprofit foundations. In January, South Korea’s top court upheld a 20-year prison sentence for Park on the graft charges that finalized her downfall, bringing an end to the legal process.
Moon’s office said the decision to pardon Park was intended to “overcome unfortunate past history, promote people’s unity and join hands for the future.” “I hope this would provide a chance to go beyond differences in thoughts and pros and cons, and open a new era of integration and unity,” his spokeswoman quoted him as saying.
Moon had previously pledged not to pardon those who were convicted of corruption. But many supporters and politicians of the conservative main opposition People Power party have called for Park’s pardon ahead of the March presidential election, citing her deteriorating health and deepening political strife. Opposition lawmakers have said that Park has experienced health problems while in prison, including undergoing shoulder surgery.
Park’s imprisonment had become a political hot potato that divided the country, with conservatives having weekly rallies in downtown Seoul urging her release and criticizing Moon until the COVID-19 pandemic emerged. A poll by Gallup Korea in November showed 48% of respondents were opposed to pardoning Park and Lee, but the numbers have dropped from around 60% early this year.
The flag bearer of Moon’s ruling Democratic Party, Lee Jae-Myung, and People Power’s candidate Yoon Suk-yeol are seen neck and neck in recent polls. Lee said he understood Moon’s “agony” and respected his decision for national unity, but Park should offer a sincere apology for the scandal.
Yoon said Park’s pardon was welcome albeit late but did not elaborate on reporters’ questions over whether her potential resumption of political activity. Park’s predecessor, also conservative Lee Myung-bak, who is also imprisoned on corruption charges, was not pardoned.
Being born and brought up in Girgaon Mumbai, my childhood has gone in the lap of Shiv Sena veteran leader Pramod Navalkar, Nilkhanth Khadilkar and many other Shiv Sena leaders. Balasaheb was my most favourite hero figure; he has encouraged me in my journey towards journalism. As a Mumbaikar, I always looked at him like one strong father figure. Unfortunately, there is a vacuum, Uddhav could not retain that ability. Shiv Sena’s office and Matoshri’s doors were open for people. Meeting Balasaheb was never difficult but Uddhav and his son became larger than life. There are some arrogant entities that are controlling these visits; I remember one dialogue of Balasaheb “Chai se kitly garam”. Meeting Thackeray is very difficult, maybe this is the reason they are distant in the hearts of the people too. Uddhav definitely needs someone in his office to bridge that gap.
Bal Thackeray was a self-made mass leader with vision and excellent leadership qualities whereas Uddhav is a leader parachuted as head of the party without much of mass appeal or leadership qualities. Above all that united Shiv Sena was the core pursuit of the party, those shakhas on every corner of Mumbai which are gone missing now were the powerhouses of the party. Once upon a time, Mumbai was a safe city and we girls used to be fearless because Dadas and Bhai’s of shakhas used to make sure about our safety. Those days there was no social media platform or IT cell circulations, only the roar of Balasaheb used to keep the city in control. Now everything has gone out of control.
Surprisingly, Aditya Thackeray, like a newcomer in politics has blocked many journalists like me on Twitter just because we pose him questions; a leader who cannot answer netizens boldly, going on a blocking spree is sitting in government just because of his father but not on the merits of his own. They want all praises and for that, they have battalions of people paid to do so.
These days Shiv Sena has a crab mentality. Their massive egos are hurt if anyone pinpoints their failures, no matter how justified the criticism is. They never praise anybody except themselves.
If we talk about principle, ideology, morality, truth and integrity, Uddhav Thackeray lacks all these qualities, but it was Balasaheb Thackeray, who had stood with all the above qualities till he survived. Balasaheb had the tremendous ability to command respect. Balasaheb never compromised with principles and values. But, in the present situation in Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray is a totally compromised personality for the sake of his own prejudice. Many grassroots level Shiv Sainiks are silenced. They have been forcefully muted; some of them are just sidelined brutally. This is the time where all these Sainiks would have played a crucial role. Uddhav Thackrey’s Shiv Sena is divided into groups; there is a lot of outside infiltration.
In the reign of Balasaheb, Bollywood and the mafia were totally under their control. There was a fear in Bollywood and in the mafias. But in the recent situation what are we observing in Mumbai? Uddhav Thackeray is not speaking a word against the Mafia and not even speaking a word against wrong activities. His attacks and voices are selective. I never imagined that Uddhav would ever be a tamed tiger of the political circus.
Balasaheb used to mock even BJP and its leaders while being in an alliance. Then the Chief Minister Manohar Joshi said in the BJP national executive meeting in Mumbai that BJP and Shiv Sena are like brothers, BJP is Ram and Shiv Sena is Lakshaman. Thackeray mocked his own CM in his mouthpiece Saamana writing “Thank god he didn’t compare us to the monkeys”. He had an impeccable sense of humour.
When BJP affiliated parties launched Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) and held rallies on sensitizing people about ills of multinationals and foreign products, Thackeray observed “When these people shout slogan of Swadeshi Zindabad by raising their hands, you can see that they have foreign watches on their wrists”. He called out the hypocrisy of Swadeshi movement leaders.
He had his political agenda and ideological differences but went out of his way to nurture personal relations. For e.g. He supported the candidature of Sharad Pawar’s daughter, Supriya Sule, to Rajya Sabha even though his alliance partner BJP was against it. Balasaheb once criticized the proposal to have a 22-crore throne for Shirdi Sai Baba. He suggested the amount be used for charity instead. A Marathi newspaper suggested he look at his own silver throne before he comments on other extravagances. In response, Balsaheb sent his throne to the newspaper office as a “sacrifice”.
I have thousands of such memories to share, those days Shiv Sena was a well-knit network, mainly composed of tough local youngsters, soon spread out to every neighbourhood in Mumbai. He and his Shakha Pramukhs often arbitrated disputes, got people jobs and demanded that he be consulted on all kinds of matters, including the release of films he found controversial. He had immense control and influence on Mumbaikars and on the people of Maharashtra as a whole. I miss that old Shiv Sena which gave us a sense of belonging.
Uddhav Thackeray is humble and maintained his demure as CM but somewhere distanced from the people who actually loved him. But interestingly Raj Thackeray has the power of grasping a lot of attention at the time of rallies, but unluckily failed in terms of votes. Raj is almost where he started. Uddhav is now not only part of the Government, but holding a prime post as CM. But being part of the government is not enough to pour life into Shiv Sena. Somewhere the Shiv Sena is fading in Mumbai and Maharashtra. The need of the hour is to strengthen all shakhas, appoint new shakha pramukhs, kartyakarte, and give responsibilities to youngsters. Once again unite all its old guards and rejuvenate its core strength. Shiv Sena should definitely work on a makeover of the party or else it would be losing its existence in no time.
Maharashtra govt's Shakti Bill proposes severe punishment for crime against women, children 27
If someone files a complaint or gives wrong information to a public servant, punishment will escalate
In 2020, Maharashtra saw a jump of 14 per cent in crime rate as against 2019, the data from the state Crime Investigation Department (CID) revealed. A report published in IE stated the crime against women saw a drop as compared to 2019. The 2019 data from the National Crime Records Bureau revealed that Maharashtra is second on the list with 32.3 lakh cases of crimes registered in the country.
In an effort to control the increasing crimes against women and children, the Maharashtra government tabled a report containing the recommendations of a joint selection committee studying the Shakti Bill. The Maharashtra government’s Shakti Criminal Laws (Maharashtra Amendment) Bill, 2020, proposes to increase the quantum of punishment for offences such as rapes, acid attacks and capital, heavy fines and speedy trials for the perpetrators.
In July this year, the state government extended the deadline for the Joint committee on Shakti Bill. Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil presented in the Lower House of the legislature the recommendations of the joint committee’s report on the Shakti Criminal Laws. The Bill was sent to a 21-member joint committee in the budget session for scrutiny and is likely to be passed in the winter session.
The Shakti Bill recommends
Patil informed the House that the bill provides an onus on social media platforms, internet and mobile telephone data if they fail to provide data to the police for investigation under Section 175A. The investigating officers can seek data from social media platforms and mobile data providers in women assault cases and if they fail to provide within a time frame of seven days, then it may attract three months of imprisonment in jail and a fine of Rs 25 lakh. The data must be within three days at the pain of penalty under the provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POSCO) Act.
The committee has proposed an increase in the quantum of punishments for men, women and children for acid attack and rape cases or in any case if the modesty of a woman is outraged and she is threatened by any means of communication under Section 345E, the Indian Express (IE) revealed in its report. It further recommends that the investigation period must be increased from the existing 15 days to 30 days and if the probe is not completed on time, then further extension can be given. Earlier, the extension period was seven days.
Punishment in case of acid attacks
According to the recommendations, in the case of acid attacks, section 326 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) will be amended. This means there will be a provision of a minimum of fifteen years to maximum life imprisonment for the guilty along with the penalty. The accused will have to pay the expenses of plastic surgery and face reconstruction operations for the victim.
What if someone files a false complaint?
Patil informed that if someone files a complaint or gives wrong information to a public servant, punishment will increase. The provisions of the bill are being made more strict to punish the culprits and it is also important to save the innocent. Severe and stringent punishment is required if people file false or wrong complaints. Moreover, a fine of Rs one lakh will be imposed and imprisonment of not less than three years and up to three years will be given if someone files a false complaint.
The minister further explained the bill seeks to amend Section 100 of the IPC. As per the reports, in sexual harassment cases, two social workers granted by the state government’s Women and Child Welfare Department or two public servants can be taken as independent witnesses.
When the Shakti Bill was first tabled?
In December 2020, the Maharashtra government first tabled the Shakti Bill which is drafted on the lines of the Disha Act in Andhra Pradesh. The bill was introduced in the Assembly to bring laws for the safety of women and children and to reduce the incidents of violence and atrocities against women and children in the state.
Later on, the government referred the Bill to the committee and a total of thirteen meetings were held before submitting its recommendations. The committee has repealed the provision to not provide anticipatory bail to people who file wrong or false complaints.
