West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose has sent the Aparajita Woman and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill 2024’ to President Droupadi Murmu, citing a number of loopholes in it. The bill was passed by the State Assembly in the aftermath of the gruesome rape and murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar hospital in Kolkata on the 9th of last month. The bill seeks capital punishment for rape convicts if their actions result in the victim’s death or leave her in a vegetative state.

The governor said in a post on social media last evening that the bill has been prepared in a hurry. He also held the state secretariat responsible for not sending the technical report along with the bill and said it is a failure on their part. Referring to the R G Kar issue, the governor said it is the duty of the state government to ensure justice for the family of the victim without waiting for the bill.