President clears Bill against witch-hunting

President clears Bill against witch-hunting

News:

1. President’s kovind gives its assent to  Assam’s Anti- witch-hunting Bill

Important

2. A witch-hunt or witch purge is a search for people labelled “witches” or evidence of witchcraft, often involving moral panic or mass hysteria.

3. The State received the President’s approval for the Assam witch hunting (Prohibition, prosecution, and protection) Bill, 2015.

4. The key features of the Bill are given below:

• The Bill makes every offence under the act “cognizable, non-bailable and non-compoundable”.
• The Act prescribes a prison term of up to 7 years and up Rs 5 lakh in fine for calling a person witch.
• It also has provisions to come with section 302 of the IPC if someone is killed after being branded a witch.
• The punishment for leading a person to suicide may be extended to life imprisonment upto Rs 5 lakh in fine.

1. Earlier, Project Prahari was launched in 2001 which blended normal policing with social campaigns to check the menace.