Kerala to bring in Anti-Superstition Bill

Kerala, which recently witnessed an alarming spurt in the number of black magic cases, is gearing up to bring in a legislation to curb 'inhuman' practices and exploitation in the name of superstition.

The Kerala Prevention and Eradication of Inhuman Evil Practices, Sorcery and Black Magic Bill, 2019 has been submitted to the CPI(M)-led LDF government for its consideration to pass as legislation.

On the lines of the Anti-Superstition and Black Magic Bill, passed by Maharashtra and Karnataka, the state-run Kerala Law Reforms Commission has drafted the bill to fight superstition and eradicate 'inhuman evil' practices propagated in the name of black magic.

The draft bill, accessed by PTI, proposes stringent punishment for any kind of evil practice and cheating in the name of black magic, ranging from 'expelling ghost' to isolating women for menstruation and postpartum.

It also aims at raising social awareness in the society with a view to protect people against fraudulent and exploitative practices thriving on ignorance.

The legislative assemblies of Karnataka and Maharashtra had passed the Anti-Superstition Black Magic Bill in 2017 and 2013, respectively.

"The draft bill is completed and we have submitted it to the state government," K Sasidharan Nair, Vice Chairman, Kerala Law Reforms Commission, told PTI.

"Unlike the bills passed by Maharashtra and Karnataka, we have given special thrust to a series of intense awareness programmes in our bill for the government to implement because superstition seems to be so deep-rooted in the minds of Keralites nowadays," he said.

"While going through many instances of superstition, I feel whether we deserve to be called a civilised society? Only a few cases are reported in the media," Nair, also a former law secretary, said.

He said legislation and stringent punishment alone cannot make any changes in the mindset of the people.

"As it is a very sensitive topic, we have drafted the bill very carefully. I personally feel that public opinion should be garnered before it is enacted as law by the government," the vice-chairperson added.

According to the draft bill, no person shall by himself or through any other person, promote, propagate or practice, black magic or sorcery.

The offences punishable under this Act shall be "cognizable and non-bailable," it said.

Whoever commits any act in violation, shall on conviction, be sentenced for a term which shall not be less than one year and may extend to seven years and with a fine of Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 50,000, it said.

In case of a death of a person, the accused shall be deemed to have committed an offence under Section 300 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and shall be punished accordingly, the draft bill added.

Further, it said performing any 'inhuman' evil act, black magic or sorcery, parading naked or putting a ban on a person's daily activity or using such alleged practice to extort, threaten or assault a person in search of precious things, are punishable offences.

However, the draft bill clearly states that it would not be applicable to any form of worshipper formed at any religious or spiritual places and the performance of religious rituals at home, temple, church, mosque or other religious places, which do not cause physical harm to any person.

All religious celebration, festivals, prayers and processions and the advice with regard to 'vasthusastra' or advice by astrologers (unless such advice results in cheating, defrauding or exploiting any person) are also exempted, it said.

The Anti-Superstition and Black Magic draft Bill assumes significance in Kerala, which is known for its high literacy rate and progressive outlook, in view of a number of shocking incidents and sinister practices in the name of black magic in the recent days.

The death of a 27-year-old woman from Karunagapally, allegedly due to starvation enforced by her husband and mother-in-law for dowry, had caused widespread public outrage in the state this April.

There were allegations that her in-laws had performed black magic on the woman and she was denied proper food for days and survived only on soaked rice and sugar syrup all on the instruction of a black magician.

In another incident, bodies of a man and three other members of his family were found stacked one over the other and buried in a pit in the backyard of their house in Kerala's Idukki district in August last year.

Police said the man had been practising witchcraft for the past several years and collecting money from local people promising to bring them luck and rid them of evil effects.