Bill introduced in LS against piracy on high seas

A Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Monday to make special provisions for repression of piracy on high seas and to provide for punishment for the offence of piracy.

The Anti-Maritime Piracy Bil, 2019, was introduced by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

Opposing the introduction, Congress member Shashi Tharoor said the death penalty can only be in the rarest of rare cases while the Bill has "an automatic provision" for the death penalty.

"You are putting the country in a situation where it will be impossible for us to get the cooperation of foreign countries because of the automaticity implicit here. We need a Bill which does not involve the violation of the constitutional principle of not having the death penalty," he said.

Jaishankar also said that the Bill does not have an automatic death penalty.

"Article 3 of the Bill says that whoever commits any act of piracy, shall be punished with imprisonment for life or with death, if such a person is in the committing act of piracy, causes death or attempt. It is incorrect to say that there is an automatic death penalty," he added.