Capital punishment for mob lynching; 20 years of imprisonment or life term under new Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Bill which was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Friday to replace the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has a specific provision for the crime of rape and mob lynching and stipulated punishment ranging from seven years in jail to the death penalty for those convicted of the crime.
The Bill was one of the three introduced by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday to overhaul the criminal justice system.
This includes repealing of provisions against sedition, punishment against mob lynching, and introduction of community service amongst others.
Shah asked Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to refer the three Bills to the parliamentary standing committee so that the proposed changes could be scrutinised.
For the first time, capital punishment has been introduced for the crime of mob lynching.
According to the new provision, when a group of five or more persons acting in concert commits murder on the ground of race, caste or community, sex, place of birth, language, personal belief or any other ground each member of such group shall be punished with death or with imprisonment for life or imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.
“There has been a lot of talk about mob lynching. We have carefully ensured that the punishment for mob lynching will be seven years, imprisonment for life, or even death,” the home minister said, adding that all three provisions are there in cases of mob lynching.
The current IPC does not have a separate provision for murder by a mob because of which police register a case of murder under 302 (murder in the Indian Penal Code) in cases of mob lynching.
The bill also seeks to give precedence to offences against women and children and murder and offences against the State.
The punishment for the rape of a woman under twelve years of age (minors) includes imprisonment of not less than twenty years, but which may extend to imprisonment for life, which shall mean imprisonment for the remainder of that person’s natural life, and with fine or with death. The punishment for all types of gang rape includes 20 years of imprisonment or a life term.
According to clause 64 (1) of the Bill, whoever, except in the cases provided for in subsection (2), commits rape, shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than ten years, but which may extend to imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine
Clause 65 (1) of the Bill says, “Whoever commits rape on a woman under sixteen years of age shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than twenty years, but which may extend to imprisonment for life, which shall mean imprisonment for the remainder of that person’s natural life, and shall also be liable to fine.”
It further says that whoever has sexual intercourse with his own wife, who is living separately, whether under a decree of separation or otherwise, without her consent, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than two years but which may extend to seven years and shall also be liable to fine.
A new offence on acts of secession, armed rebellion, subversive activities, separatist activities or endangering the sovereignty or unity and integrity of India has been added to the revised laws.
The sedition law “has been repealed”, the home minister said. The word “sedition” is not in the proposed law. It is replaced by Section 150 for acts endangering the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India.
The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 and The Bharatiya Sakshya Bill 2023 were introduced in the Lower House of Parliament