Shakti law to return in tougher form soon, says Maharashtra CM Fadnavis after President sends back bill

A week or so from now, the Shakti Act will be reintroduced, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told the Assembly on the second day of the winter session in the state Assembly during the Question Hour. He said the Shakti (Maharashtra Criminal Law Amendment) Bill of 2020, which was enacted in 2021, was referred to the President for assent, but it came back to Maharashtra for review, given that some new criminal laws have been enacted by the center.

“The Shakti Act would be brought before the assembly soon. Along with that, the state would also introduce three more stringent acts for women,” Fadnavis told media personnel. Currently, the state is taking legal opinions on the law to make it “even more stringent,” he emphasized.

Patterned after the Andhra Pradesh “Disha Act”, the “Shakti Bill” had punished rape with death, harsher sentences for serious offences such as acid attacks and sexual harassment, besides new offences for cyber harassment. This is pending for almost three years, awaiting Presidential assent, besides needing to be brought in line with the newly operational criminal laws by the Union Government. When the “Beti Bachao” campaign gained momentum, some states followed suit with their own bills, including Bihar, Haryana, Karnataka, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and West Bengal. These were either pending or still awaiting Presidential assent.

Discussion about the Shakti Law is in the context of the debate on the Beed suicide incident, with critical questions being raised by the Opposition. “The incident is tragic. Society is outraged. We have arrested Gopal Badne and Prashant Bankar, who were accused. Forensic science reports as well as digital evidence reveal that the writing on the hand of the suicide is that of the suicide herself,” Fadnavis replied. An investigation by the SIT led by a woman IPS officer is over, with a judicial inquiry also being held so that no fact is left behind.

He also mentioned that the victim was asked for an unfit-for-duty report and was deliberately deployed alone on certain dates. It is evident that the suspect misled her by promising marriage and then took advantage of her sexually. He also managed to get his hands on footage of the incident that took place at the hotel where the crime was committed. A judge is to be involved for a thorough investigation as some claims are still pending. A chargesheet is to be filed soon, he assured. In response to NCP leader Prakash Solanki's claim that NCP demands a government job for the victim's family, Fadnavis retorted: “She was on 11-month contracts. She is, therefore, not eligible for a job on compassionate terms.” “However, whatever is feasible on the humanitarian front would be taken care of,” he maintained. However, senior party leaders Nana Patole, Vijay Wadettiwar, Jyoti Gaikwad, Amit Satam, Sunil Prabhu, among other party leaders, found it hard to understand some of the deployment orders taken by the woman, including being posted to work alone that Wadettiwar called “a terror-creating situation