Mental health to fall under 'cruelty' against women in criminal code revamp

New Delhi: The Centre on Monday brought in a bill that redefines “cruelty” against women to include harm to her “mental health”.

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, one of the three bills introduced by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, defines cruelty as “any wilful conduct, which is of such a nature as is likely to drive the woman to commit suicide, or to cause grave injury, or danger to life, limb or health (whether mental or physical).”

This is the first time that the Centre is including mental harassment among the offences that define “cruelty” against women. The Bill also recommends a jail term of three years for the husband and in-laws of the woman, if found guilty of cruelty.

The Nyaya Sanhita, along with The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, were introduced in August this year and are slated to replace the existing criminal codes. However, after a demand from the Opposition, the bills were referred to the Parliamentary Committee of Home Affairs for scrutiny.

“These are important bills, and we do not want to rush with them either. MPs are being given 48 hours to study the bills. Grammatical changes and changes to five sections have been incorporated,” Shah said.

The Bills will be discussed on December 14 and voting will take place on December 15, the home minister said in response to Opposition members who demanded sufficient time to study the three Bills.

The three Codes earlier introduced were withdrawn earlier this week to incorporate the recommendations. Shah said that instead of bringing several amendments to incorporate recommendations of the committee, the fresh bills were brought in.

While introducing the Bills on Tuesday, Shah stated that most of the amendments in the Bills were corrections of grammatical mistakes, while a few sections carried amendments.

The Bills, he said, incorporated some of the recommendations made by the Parliamentary committee. However, among the recommendations that were not accepted were the criminalisation of adultery and of homosexuality.