RS refers torture bill to Select Committee

NEW DELHI: The Rajya Sabha on Tuesday referred the Prevention of Torture Bill, 2010 to a Select Committee of Parliament.
The bill, which has already been passed in the Lok Sabha, provides up to ten years of imprisonment to public servants responsible for torturing any person to elicit information or other purposes.
Brinda Karat (CPI-M) had demanded that the bill should be referred to a select committee of Parliament.
The bill is a stand-alone legislation which defines 'torture' and provides for punishment to those involved.
India had signed the UN Convention against Torture, Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment in October 1997, which required an enabling legislation to be adopted to reflect the definition and punishment for torture.
After considerable deliberations on the issue, it was decided to bring in a stand-alone legislation so that the UN Convention could be ratified.