Delhi Assembly Resolves To Make Stalking Non-Bailable

The Delhi government has announced it will push for amendment to make stalking a non-bailable offence.  The Delhi assembly passed the resolution to amend Section-354 D of the Indian Penal Code at a meeting on Monday (March 26).

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA from Greater Kailash Saurabh Bharadwaj suggested the resolution which state Home Minister Satyendra Jain agreed with. The resolution also included making changes in the law dealing with rape of minor children. It will seek death penalty to the convict in such cases.

"The government will table the Bill. It will be sent to the Centre once it is passed by the Delhi Assembly," Jain said, ET reported.

During a discussion among the Delhi Assembly members, AAP MLA from Chandni Chowk Alka Lamba spoke up on the numerous cases of stalking, some of which have ended in the victim's death.

“Bollywood has romanticised the idea of stalking. There are many songs that glorify a man running after a woman...In Delhi alone, there were around 7,000 cases of stalking in 2016, according to the National Crime Records Bureau”

Bhardwaj suggested amendment of the law dealing with stalking to make it a non-bailable offence.

"The law-makers should amend the law to make stalking a non-bailable offence. They should also amend the law to make juvenile rape punishable with the death penalty," the resolution stated.

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AAP Delhi women’s wing president Richa Pandey Mishra talked about the influence of cinema that encourages stalking. “Bollywood has romanticised the idea of stalking. There are many songs that glorify a man running after a woman...In Delhi alone, there were around 7,000 cases of stalking in 2016, according to the National Crime Records Bureau,” she said, The Hindu reported.

Pandey also informed the assembly about the AAP women’s wing’s initiative where they are collecting signatures in favour of a stringent anti-stalking legislation. She said that they have collected about 20,000 signatures so far and as soon as they reach their target of one lakh signatures, they will discuss the petition with the Lieutenant Governor.

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