Bangalore: Jul 29 (DHNS) : The State Legislature on Monday passed an amendment to the Goonda Act, seeking to bring sexual offences, including rape, under its ambit.
The Bill was passed without any discussion, as the proceedings in both Houses—the Assembly and the Council—were disrupted for most part of the day.
Acid attacks, illegal sand mining, quarrying, land grabbing and money laundering have also been included under the amended law — the Karnataka Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Bootleggers, Drug-Offenders, Slum-Grabbers and Video or Audio Pirates Act, 1985 (widely known as Goonda Act).
The government took the decision to bring sexual offences under the Goonda Act following a public outcry against increasing rapes across the State.
The Congress government had assured the legislature that it would try to amend the Goonda Act to bring sexual offenders under its purview when the Opposition BJP had created a ruckus over the alleged rape of a six-year-old student by a skating instructor at Vibgyor High school, Bangalore.
The BJP had also raised the illegal sand mining menace in the State and charged the government with allowing the law-breakers to escape.
Under the Goonda Act, an accused may be arrested without warrant and detained up to one year.
The government pushed through the amendment in order to apply the stringent law in the Vibgyor case.
The amendment bill describes a person involved in a sexual offence as a “sexual predator”.
It defines sexual predator as a person who commits or attempts or abets the commission of any offence under Sections 376, 376a, 376b, 376c, 376d and 376e of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.
The amendment bill was tabled by Home Minister K J George amidst a dharna by Opposition BJP, demanding a CBI probe into the alleged irregularities in denotifying BDA land by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
The JD(S) members were demanding the setting up of a House committee to probe alleged irregularities in power purchase and encroachment of lakes in Bangalore.
Speaker Kagodu Thimmappa declared the bill passed even as Leader of the Opposition Jagadish Shettar opposed it saying a bill cannot be passed when the House was not in order. The Council, too, passed the bill without any discussion as the Opposition BJP members were staging a dharna over the MES row in Belgaum.
The bill also seeks to regulate offences under any law relating to protection of environment, rivers and relating to illegal sand mining from any place or under any law governing quarrying or mining.
Even those who commit or abet the commission of offences punishable under any law relating to conservation of forest or wildlife also come under the Goonda Act, as per the bill.The bill also proposes to bring digital offenders and land grabbers — of both government and private lands — under the Goonda Act.
Any person who knowingly or deliberately violates, for commercial purposes, any copyright law in relation to any book, music, film, software, artistic or scientific work and illegally uses any computer or digital network for pecuniary gain under the Information Technology Act, 2000, will also be tried under the Goonda Act.