Body shaming, digital abuse punishable under Kerala's new anti-ragging law
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala govt is set to introduce the Kerala Prohibition of Ragging (Amendment) Bill, 2025, overhauling its two-decade-old anti-ragging legislation. This move comes in the wake of the death of J S Siddharthan — a student of Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Pookode, Wayanad, at his hostel last February — which highlighted critical loopholes in the existing 1998 Act.
For the first time, the revised bill explicitly defines ragging to include body shaming, psychological harassment, and digital abuse, making them punishable under law. Harassment through internet or any other electronic mode will now be a cognisable offence. The amendment broadens scope of ragging to encompass a wide array of criminal acts, such as abetment, criminal conspiracy, unlawful assembly, and rioting.
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Hindustan Times
8 minutes ago
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Indian Express
33 minutes ago
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Time of India
3 hours ago
- Time of India
Guv returns Aparajita bill to assembly, cites concerns over BNS amendments
Kolkata: Bengal governor C V Ananda Bose has returned the Aparajita bill to the assembly citing serious objections raised by the Centre regarding proposed changes to BNS, according to a high-ranking Raj Bhavan source. The Centre found that the Aparajita Women and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill, passed in Sept 2024, contained "excessively harsh and disproportionate" punishment provisions for rape under multiple BNS sections, sources said. A major point of contention is an amendment to Section 64 of BNS. The bill suggests increasing the punishment for rape from the current minimum of 10 years to either imprisonment for the remainder of the convict's natural life or capital punishment. The MHA reportedly deemed this escalation as unduly harsh and inconsistent with principles of proportionality. You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata Another controversial change involves the removal of BNS Section 65, which prescribes stricter penalties for sexual assault of minors. Union govt officials believe scrapping this clause weakens protections for vulnerable groups and risks diluting the intent behind age-based classifications in rape laws. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Pune: Unsold Furniture Liquidation 2024 (Prices May Surprise You) Unsold Furniture | Search Ads Learn More Undo Bengal govt on Friday said it had received no official communication from Centre nor the governor's office about these observations. Earlier, bills similar to Aparajita, like Andhra Pradesh Disha Bill, 2019, and Maharashtra Shakti Bill, 2020 — which had a mandatory death penalty for all rape and gang-rape cases — were passed unanimously by state legislatures but did not get assent from the President. Strongly objecting to the development, Trinamool Congress spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said: "The returning of the Aparajita bill is unfortunate, deplorable and condemnable. CM Mamata Banerjee proposed it keeping in mind women's safety and dignity and proposed harsher penalties for crimes against it... CM Banerjee will surely address the issue and concerns raised by Raj Bhavan and respond appropriately. However, this incident has proved that BJP is unwilling to impose maximum punishment in these cases, as their members are implicated in molestations and rapes. We reiterate that this is a model bill that should have been passed."
