New Delhi: Senior Congress MP Ashwani Kumar
will head the Select Committee of Rajya Sabha to scrutinise
the Prevention of Torture Bill, 2010.
Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari has constituted the
Committee which would have 12 other members from various
political parties.
The bill provides up to ten years of imprisonment to
public servants responsible for torturing any person to get
information or other purposes.
The bill is a stand-alone legislation which defines
`torture` and provides for punishment to those involved.
India had signed the UN Convention against Torture, Cruel,
Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment in 1997, which
required an enabling legislation to be adopted to reflect the
definition and punishment for torture.
The Bill, already passed by Lok Sabha, has been recently
referred to the Select Committee of Parliament following
demands from some members in the Rajya Sabha.
Other members of the Committee are E M Sudarsana
Natchiappan, Shantaram Laxman Naik, Vijaylaxmi Sadho,
Janardhan Waghmare, S S Ahluwalia, Kalraj Mishra, Maya Singh,
Naresh Gujral, Brinda Karat, Satish Chandra Misra, Ahmad Saeed
Malihabadi and Ashok S Ganguly.
PTI
