
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
- Hindustan Times
Bengal anti-rape bill sent back, says TMC
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Indian Express
33 minutes ago
- Indian Express
National Sports Governance Bill: Will govt clean up federations including BCCI — or isthere a danger of overreach?
nearly a decade ago, when the Supreme Court was hearing the recommendations made by a panel led by Justice R M Lodha, set up by the Court to suggest reforms to the Board of Control for Cricket in India, then Chief Justice T S Thakur asked the BCCI a rhetorical question: 'Are you refusing to be reformed?' In the coming days, the cricket board could, again, face a similar question. For years, the BCCI has acted on its own on governance issues. Through the National Sports Governance Bill, which Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya introduced in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, the government has shown a will to bell the cat. So far, the BCCI has resisted all attempts to bring it under government regulation. Its main argument has been that since it does not seek funding from the sports ministry, it isn't answerable to it. Unlike other sports, the cricket board, an autonomous body, isn't covered under the Right to Information Act, 2005. However, with cricket returning to the Olympics in 2028, it could be forced to align with other national federations and follow the standard good governance practices. The government aims to achieve this by bringing the BCCI under the National Sports Board (NSB), as the Bill envisages. The NSB will have sweeping powers to lay down rules and oversee the functioning of all federations — from unconventional games like atya patya to mainstream sports like cricket. Indeed, sports governance issues go beyond cricket. The Bill seeks to bring in legislation to improve 'the governance of the sports bodies and achieve better results in sports and reduce the disputes and litigation, inter alia, involving sports federations'. It relies on two main pillars — the NSB will be a SEBI-like body that will govern all sports, and the creation of a National Sports Tribunal, which will take the burden away from the lower courts and high courts. With the NSB, there are fears of government overreach and the question of appointing the right people, free of conflicts of interest or bias, to head the organisation. At the same time, there are concerns that the formation of the Tribunal, which will have the powers of a civil court and decide on disputes ranging from selection to election, could disenfranchise athletes and administrators of their right to approach the courts. Whether or not the government, through this Bill, succeeds in cleaning up the messy Indian sports administration depends on whether or not it manages to enforce its provisions in letter and spirit.


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."