New Delhi: With 25 out of 29 states
favouring decriminalisation of the attempt to commit suicide,
the Centre has told the Delhi High Court that it is willing to
consider repealing suicide bid as a penal offence.
A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Sanjiv
Khanna was apprised of the Centre`s willingness to consider
repealing section 309 of the Indian Penal Code, which makes
suicide bid a penal offence, by its Standing Counsel Jatan
Singh.
Singh stated this during hearing of a public interest
lawsuit by Mental Health Foundation, an NGO, seeking
decriminalisation of suicide bid.
"The IPC being a major criminal law, piecemeal amendment
to the act may not be practical proposition. Therefore, the
recommendation of the Law Commission in its 210 report for
deletion of Section 309 of IPC will be given due consideration
while considering the next batch of comprehensive amendment to
IPC," Singh told the court.
He indicated a time frame of over a year for the move,
saying "the government plans a comprehensive amendment to IPC,
CrPC (Criminal Procedure Code) and Evidence Act in a year."
The Union Ministry of Law and Justice, in an affidavit,
told the court that the criminal law is a Concurrent List
subject and it has received various states` opinions on the
issue of repealing Section 309 of the IPC.
PTI
