 bill no 100 of 2010 the  commission  of  sati  (prevention)  amendment bill, 2010 byshri l rajagopal, mpa billfurther to amend the commission of sati (prevention) act, 1987be it enacted by parliament in the sixty-first year of the republic of india as follows:—short title and commencement1 (1) this act may be called the commission of sati (prevention) amendment act,2010amendment of section 23 of 19882  in section 2 of the commission of sati (prevention) act, 1987 (hereinafter referred toas the principal act), in clause (e), after the words 'constructed or made', the words "on or after the 16th day of august, 1947" shall be insertedamendment of section 34 in section 4 of the principal act,—amendment of section 4(i) in clause (1), for the words "shall also be liable to fine", the words "shall also be liable to fine which shall not be less than five lakh rupees" shall be substituted; and5(ii) in clause (2), for the words "shall also be liable to fine", the words "shall also be liable to fine which shall not be less than two lakh rupees" shall be substituted 5  for section 5 of the principal act, the following section shall be substituted, namely:—substitution of new section for section 5punishment for glorification of sati10"5 whoever does any act for the glorification of sati shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than three years but which may extend to seven years and with fine which shall not be less than one lakh rupees but which may extend to five lakh rupees"amendment of section 6156  in section 6 of the principal act, in clause (3), for the words "imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than one year but which may extend to seven years and with fine which shall not be less than five thousand rupees but which may extend to thirty thousand rupees", the words "imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than three years but which may extend to seven years and with fine which shall not be less than one lakh rupees but which may extend to five lakh rupees" shall be substitutedamendment of section 77  in section 7 of the principal act, in clause (1), for the words "in existence for not less than twenty years", the words "in existence from or after the 16th day of august, 1947" shall be substituted statement of objects and reasonssati or the burning or burying alive of a widow or a woman is revolting to the feelings of human nature and is nowhere enjoined in any of the religions of india as an imperative duty it is necessary to take effective measures to prevent the commission of sati and its glorification as it is no less a deplorable act and, justifiably, a heinous crime against women there is a feeling among people that the practice of sati is another tool to oppress women it is ridiculous that such a burden is placed only on the women whose existence is considered meaningless after the death of her husbandparliament has enacted the commission of sati (prevention) act, 1987, with a view to provide for more effective prevention of the commission of sati and its glorification in the country in spite of enactment of this legislation, incidents of sati are reported from various parts of the country, particularly northern india the incident of sati in the year 2005 at bahundari village in the state of uttar pradesh where an old woman was forced to commit sati evoked sharp reaction from all sections of the society other incidents have also taken place after this but many of them are not coming to light due to various reasons the conviction rate in offences under the commission of sati (prevention) act, 1987 is very low the punishment which can be awarded to culprits under the act is not deterrentin view of this and to eliminate the barbaric custom of consigning a vibrant life to the flames of a funeral pyre in the country, the bill is proposed to make the provisions in the existing legislation more stringent so that it works as a deterrent to those who commit sati or involve in the abetment of sati or glorify sati in the countrythe bill seeks to achieve the above objectivesnew delhi;july 15, 2010l rajagopal annexure extract from the commission of sati (prevention) act, 1987(no 3 of 1988)       part i preliminarydefinitions2 (a)     (b)      (c)      (d) (e) "temple" includes any building or other structure, whether roofed or not, constructed or made to preserve the memory of a person in respect of whom sati has been committed or used or intended to be used for the carrying on of any form of worship or for the observance of any ceremony in connection with such commissionattempt to commit sati3 notwithstanding anything contained in the indian penal code (45 of 1860), whoeverattempts to commit sati and does any act towards such commission shall be punishable withimprisonment for a term which may extend to six months or with fine or with both:provided that the special court trying an offence under this section shall, before convicting any person, take into consideration the circumstances leading to the commission of the offence, the act committed, the state of mind of the person charged of the offence at the time of the commission of the act and all other relevant factorsabetment of sati4  (1) notwithstanding anything contained in the indian penal code (45 of 1860), ifany person commits sati, whoever abets the commission of such sati, either directly orindirectly, shall be punishable with death or imprisonment for life and shall also be liable to fine(2) if any person attempts to commit sati, whoever abets such attempt, either directly or indirectly, shall be punishable with imprisonment for life and shall also be liable to fineexplanation—for the purposes of this section, any of the following acts or the like shall also be deemed to be an abetment, namely:—(a) any inducement to a widow or woman to get her burnt or buried alive along with the body of her deceased husband or with any other relative or with any article, object or thing associated with the husband or such relative, irrespective of whether she is in a fit state of mind or is labouring under a state of intoxication or stupefaction or other cause impeding the exercise of her free will;(b) making a widow or woman believe that the commission of sati would result in some spiritual benefit to her or her deceased husband or relative or the general well being of the family;(c) encouraging a widow or woman to remain fixed in her resolve to commit sati and thus instigating her to commit sati;(d) participating in any procession in connection with the commission of sati or aiding the widow or woman in her decision to commit sati by taking her along with the body of her deceased husband or relative to the cremation or burial ground;(e) being present at the place where sati is committed as an active participant to such commission or to any ceremony connected with it;(f) preventing or obstructing the widow or woman from saving herself from being burnt or buried alive;(g) obstructing, or interfering with, the police in the discharge of its duties of taking any steps to prevent  the commission of satipunishment for glorification of sati5 whoever does any act for the glorification of sati shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than one year but which may extend to seven years and with fine which shall not be less than five thousand rupees but which may extend to thirty thousand rupees part iii powers of collector or district magistrate to prevent offences relating to sati| 6            |    ( | 1   | )    |    |    |    ||---------------|------|-----|-------|-----|-----|-----|| (             |    2 | )   |      |    |    |    || power to      |      |     |       |     |     |     || prohibit      |      |     |       |     |     |     || certain acts |      |     |       |     |     |     |(3) whoever contravenes any order made under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2)shall, if such contravention is not punishable under any other provision of this act, be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than one year but which may extend to seven years and with fine which shall not be less than five thousand rupees but which may extend to thirty thousand rupeespower to remove certain temples or other structures7 (1) the state government may, if it is satisfied that in any temple or other structure which has been in existence for not less than twenty years, any form of worship or the performance of any ceremony is carried on with a view to perpetuate the honour of, or to preserve the memory of, any person in respect of whom sati has been committed, by order, direct the removal of such temple or other structure|     |     |     |     |     |     |    ||------|------|------|------|------|------|-----| lok   sabha———— a billfurther to amend the commission of sati (prevention) act, 1987————(shri l rajagopal, mp)gmgipmrnd—3668ls(s3)—1882010