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Defence & Security
Mahesh

25/03/24 11:12 AM IST

Anti-piracy Act has been a great enabler: Navy chief

In News
  • The new Maritime Anti Piracy Act, enacted in 2022, has been a “great enabler”, and is one of the reasons why we have been successful.
Key provisions of the bill
  • The Bill provides for prevention of maritime piracy and prosecution of persons for such piracy-related crimes.
  • It will apply to all parts of the sea adjacent to and beyond the limits of the Exclusive Economic Zone of India, i.e., beyond 200 nautical miles from the coastline.
  • It defines piracy as any illegal act of violence, detention, or destruction committed against a ship, aircraft, person or property, for private purposes, by the crew or passengers of a private ship or aircraft. Such acts may be carried out in the high seas (beyond the Exclusive Economic Zone of India) or any place outside the jurisdiction of India.
  • An attempt to commit, aid, support, or counsel an act of piracy will be punishable with up to 14 years of imprisonment, and a fine.
  • Participating, organising, or directing others to participate in an act of piracy will also be punishable with up to 14 years of imprisonment, and a fine.
  • Offences will be considered extraditable. This means that the accused can be transferred to any country for prosecution with which India has signed an extradition treaty.
Challenges
  • Under the Bill, if a person, while committing an act of piracy causes or seeks to cause death, he will be punished with death.
  • This implies a mandatory death penalty for such offences.
  • The Supreme Court has held that mandatory death penalty for any offence is unconstitutional as it violates Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.
  • The Bill provides for imprisonment of up to 14 years if a person participates in an act of piracy. Committing an act of piracy (which includes voluntarily participating in the operation of a pirate ship or aircraft) is punishable with life imprisonment.
  • As these circumstances may overlap, it is unclear how the punishment would be determined in such cases.
  • The Bill will apply to all parts of the sea adjacent to and beyond the limits of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of India, i.e., beyond 200 nautical miles from the coastline.
  • The question is whether the Bill should cover the EEZ also, that is the area between 12 nautical miles and 200 nautical miles (from the coastline of India).
Source- The Hindu

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