No arrest of women between sunset and sunrise: Cr. P.C. amendment passed

New Delhi – The Lok Sabha (People's House or the Lower House of the Indian Parliament) on May 9 passed a bill to amend the Criminal Procedure Code providing relaxation in bail procedures and prohibiting the arrest of women between sunset and sunrise except in exceptional circumstances. The Government stating the proposed law would strengthen the criminal justice system.

The Lok Sabha passed the Bill on Monday after the Rajya Sabha (Upper House) passed it on May 4. The proposals through the amendments include that police would be required to give information about the arrest of a person and the place where he was being held to any one nominated by the arrested; mandatory judicial probe in case of death or disappearance of a person or rape of a woman while in custody.

The Bill makes mandatory provision that if an arrested person is accused of a bail–able offence and he cannot furnish surety, the court shall release him on his execution of a bond without surety; an under trial prisoner, other than one accused of an offence for which death has been prescribed as one of the punishments, should be released on his personal bond with or without sureties when he has been under detention for period extending to one half of the maximum period of imprisonment provided for alleged offence.

Also, the proposed law states that in no case will an under trial be detained beyond the maximum period of imprisonment provided for the offence; bail and anticipatory bail provisions have become more stringent for hardened criminals under the new amendments.