TODAY -
Legal breather for Irom Sharmila Govt drops suicide bid as a crime
Source: The Sangai Express / Agencies
New Delhi, December 10 2014:
India dropped on Wednesday attempted suicide from a list of crimes punishable by prison, potentially paving the way for the release of human rights activist Irom Sharmila, who has been on hunger strike for the past 14 years.
Irom Sharmila, who has been on hunger strike since November, 2000, vowed to continue her fast until her demand for withdrawal of AFSPA is met.
The Government informed Parliament of its decision in a written reply from the Home Ministry on Wednesday, saying it was acting on a recommendation of the Law Commission.
|
The Government panel for legal reform had deemed the suicide law "anachronistic" and "undesirable" in a 2008 report.
Sharmila has been on hunger strike in protest against army atrocities in Manipur.
Under the old law anyone attempting to kill themselves is liable for a jail term of a year.
She has been under detention throughout her fast, and is force-fed by tubes several times a day.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has listed India as one of the countries with the highest suicide rates - 21.1 per 100,000 people in 2012 .
The Government said 134,799 people committed suicide in 2013, a rise of 11.9% over the previous year.
There was no data on the number of attempted suicides, it said.
More than 800,000 people each year worldwide commit suicide -- around one person every 40 seconds -- WHO said in September.
* Comments posted by users in this discussion thread and other parts of this site are opinions of the individuals posting them (whose user ID is displayed alongside) and not the views of e-pao.net. We strongly recommend that users exercise responsibility, sensitivity and caution over language while writing your opinions which will be seen and read by other users. Please read a complete Guideline on using comments on this website.
HEADLINES - 11, DEC 2014
SNIPPETS - 11, DEC 2014
SPORTS - 11, DEC 2014
LATEST IN E-PAO.NET
Jump Start
DBS Imphal SubSite |
Readers Mail |
Editorials |
Education Announcements |
Essay |
Exclusive Event |
Flash - Audio Visual |
Incidents |
LFS Imphal SubSite |
News Timeline |
Poetry |
Opinion |
Sports |
Rock Concert |
RSS |
Top Stories |
Wathi Jugai