The Delhi High Court on Wednesday was informed by the city government that the Centre has told it that an amendment to penal law to deal with snatching was not required. The Delhi government had earlier this year written to the Centre to consider amending the penal provisions to deal with snatching, a serious issue plaguing the Capital.
The court asked the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Delhi government to file affidavits indicating their stand on the issue and listed the matter for further hearing on October 30.
The Delhi government earlier informed the court that Haryana and Punjab had made snatching a separate offence after amending the law.
The Bench was hearing a petition by advocate Prashant Manchanda, who alleged that incidents of chain snatching in the city have risen six-fold, leading to “fear psychosis” . The petition claimed that on average, there were 25 snatching cases every day in the city due to “absence of effective laws” and “indifference” of the police.
The petitioner contended that the police were booking chain snatchers under milder provisions, which entail a punishment of only up to three years. “Many incidents of snatching entail serious wounds and also involve use of deadly weapons, leading to fatal injuries or death of the victims,” the plea contended. Mr. Manchanda said that the offenders could be booked under Section 390 (robbery) of the IPC, as it uses the word ‘fear of wrongful restraint’, which carries a jail term of up to 10 years. The Delhi Police, represented by advocate Gautam Narayan, however, told the court that it was booking offenders under IPC Section 390 wherever applicable.