Delhi Assembly passes bill to amend CrPC

Amid vehement criticism from the Opposition, the Delhi Assembly on Monday passed a bill proposing amendments in the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) as it sought to broaden the scope of magisterial probes into cases of kidnapping, suspicious deaths, rape and disappearances. Till now, magisterial probe is ordered only in cases of custodial death, homicide, suicide of a woman or death of a woman.

Delhi home minister Satyendra Jain tabled the bill in the Assembly. “If President Pranab Mukherjee passes the proposed bill, DMs and SDMs will have power to investigate those cases in which government thinks that magisterial probe should be ordered,” Mr Jain said, adding that “through the amendment to Section 176(1) of the CrPC, the government wants to widen its scope to cover any other cases of suspicious disappearance, rapes in police custody, suspicious death”.

The Opposition BJP, however, rejected the AAP government’s claims and accused it of “challenging” the authority of Parliament by empowering itself through the move. CrPC is a subject in the Concurrent list. Leader of the Opposition Vijendra Gupta opposed the tabling of the amendment, terming it as a “illegal”.

“Tabling the CrPc amendment without the recommendation of the L-G is illegal and it amounts to challenge the powers of the Indian Parliament. The Legislative Assembly does not have the power to deal with the amendment. Hence, this bill should not be tabled.”