Govt declares existing laws sufficient after West Bengal CM's urgent plea

Hours after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee sent a second letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Aug 31, reiterating her call for stricter central legislation and harsher penalties for severe crimes such as rape and murder in light of the recent Kolkata doctor's rape-murder case, the government asserted that current laws are already sufficient to address violence and crimes against women.

In her reply to Banerjee's letter, Union Minister for Women and Child Development Annapurna Devi criticized the West Bengal government for not fully implementing existing legal provisions.

Devi claimed that Banerjee’s letter contained factual inaccuracies and appeared to be an attempt to obscure delays in setting up Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs) in the state. Devi noted that West Bengal had not yet established the additional 11 FTSCs designated to handle rape and POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses) cases.

Following the public outcry over the rape and murder of a 31-year-old woman trainee doctor at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on Aug 9, Mamata Banerjee had previously requested Prime Minister Modi to ensure mandatory, time-bound processing of rape and murder cases.

"In spite of the pendency of 48,600 rape and POCSO cases in West Bengal, the state has not operationalized additional 11 FTSCs, which may be exclusive POCSO courts or combined FTSCs dealing with both rape and POCSO cases, as per the state's requirement," Annapurna Devi said in the letter to Banerjee.

“As may be seen, the information contained in your letter in this regard is factually incorrect and appears to be a step in the direction to cover up the delays in operationalizing the FTSCs by the state,” the letter added.

In response to Banerjee’s suggestion to assign permanent judicial officers to Fast Track Special Courts (FTSCs), the Union minister stated that the scheme's guidelines already stipulate that each FTSC should have one judicial officer and seven staff members dedicated solely to handling cases under the rape and POCSO Act.

"Therefore, no permanent judicial officer or court staff can receive an additional FTSC charge. This position was clarified earlier to West Bengal,” Annapurna Devi explained.

The minister further noted that if there is a shortage of personnel, states and union territories can hire judicial officers and court staff on a contractual basis under the FTSC scheme.

Devi also emphasized that the central government’s laws are already thorough and rigorous enough to address violence and crimes against women.

"If the state government follows the central legislation in letter and spirit, it will certainly have a lasting impact on strengthening the criminal justice system, bringing the perpetrators of such crimes to face the consequences commensurate with the offense and also in ensuring justice to the victims or survivors," the union minister said.

"I once again request you to ensure due sensitization and positive approach of all duty holders at appropriate levels to ensure proper handling of cases with due care and attention to bring finality as per the timelines prescribed under the statutes," Devi said.