Hyderabad: The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly on Friday approved the strict Andhra Pradesh Disha Bill, 2019 [Andhra Pradesh Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2019].
Once approved by the Governor, the law would provide for awarding capital punishment to those convicted of offences of rape and gang rape.
The bill also provides for expediting the judicial process in such cases and the same should be completed within 21 days.
Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s Cabinet had approved the bill on Wednesday. The Cabinet had cleared the enactment of the Andhra Pradesh Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, also known as the Disha Act.
The bill has been drafted with the single thought of providing for harsher punishments, including death sentence, to those found guilty of committing heinous crimes against women like rape.
The passing of the bill comes in the wake of the gruesome rape and murder of a woman veterinarian in Telangana’s Cyberabad late last month.
The woman was burnt by the accused after being raped. Four accused arrested in the case were killed in an encounter with the police a few days later.
The accused had tried to flee and attacked the police who were then recreating the crime scene in the early hours.