Cabinet nod

Saturday’s cabinet decision will also put in place a slew of other measures including amendments in the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) for ensuring speedy investigation and trial of rape cases, and a database of sex offenders will also be put in place, a senior Union women and child development ministry official said on condition of anonymity.

“It gives me immense satisfaction as a lawyer. A depraved crime perpetuated against an innocent child can only invite death penalty,” said Alakh Alok Srivasta, who filed a public interest litigation in January demanding the death for child rapists.

The ordinance on the seizure of fugitive economic offenders follows the flight abroad of jeweller Nirav Modi who, along with his associates, is alleged to have defrauded Punjab National Bank to the tune of around Rs 12,000 crore. In March last year, businessman Vijay Mallya flew out of India to the UK as lenders closed in on him to recover upwards of Rs 9,000 crore owed by his defunct Kingfisher Airlines; extradition proceedings have been launched against Mallya in London.

“It is expected that a special forum to be created for expeditious confiscation of the proceeds of crime, in India or abroad, would coerce the fugitive to return to India to submit to the jurisdiction of Courts in India to face the law in respect of scheduled offences,” the government spokesperson said.

The Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha in the budget session, but with the second leg of the session lost to disruptions, it could not be passed.

The law will apply to defaulters who have outstanding debt of Rs 100 crore or more and have left the country. It proposes to enable authorities to attach the property of these “fugitive economic offenders” and the proceeds of their crimes.