The ship was repainted and renamed MV Mega Rama by the pirates. Within days, it was apprehended by the Indian Coast Guard off the Mumbai coast in the Arabian Sea. It was India’s first case dealing with pirates. The Mumbai sessions court tried and convicted the pirates under various sections of the Indian Penal Code IPC). However, on April 18, 2005, the Bombay High Court overruled the lower court's decision and acquitted all the accused. The reason: the IPC and Criminal Procedure Code CrPC) were invalid beyond Indian territorial waters, which stretches up to 12 nautical miles from any Indian coastal state. That legal gap has now been filled. To deal with the menace of piracy on the high seas, both houses of Parliament last week passed the Maritime Anti-Piracy Bill 2022, which provides for the prevention of maritime piracy and stringent punishment to those convicted of such crimes. Despite a sharp rise in piracy, there had been no legislation in India specifically dealing with the crime.
The Piracy Bill’ was first tabled in April 2012 by the then external affairs minister, S.M. Krishna. The Narendra Modi-led government reintroduced the bill as the Maritime Anti-Piracy Bill in the Lok Sabha on December 9, 2019, and referred it to the standing committee on external affairs. External affairs Mminister S. Jaishankar, who moved the bill now, told Parliament that out of 18 recommendations of the standing committee, 14 have been incorporated in the bill.
This story is from the January 09, 2023 edition of India Today.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the January 09, 2023 edition of India Today.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
The Macallan M 2023 debuts in India
Standing as a pinnacle of exclusivity, The Macallan M 2023 graces the shores of India with limited 10 handpicked bottles for whisky aficionados
Give it up for the science bros
They've got brains, brawn and billions in the bank. A new breed of wellness guru is doing for men what Gwyneth Paltrow did for women.
LIVING BY THE RULES
Chetan Bhagat returns to non-fiction with his new book-11 Rules for Life
The Mysterious City
Anuradha Kumar's The Kidnapping of Mark Twain paints an intriguing portrait of Bombay around the time of the American writer's visit
GOWDA KNOWS
Hot Stage, the third book in Anita Nair's Inspector Gowda mystery series, is here
WITH OUR OWN DESI SLEUTHS
Indian detective fiction gets its due in this massive, two-volume compilation from Hachette
PRIVATE PARADISE
Your home may well be your haven, but here are easy ways to make it your very own spa-dom.
Subversive IN SUBURBIA
A MONTH-LONG SHOW AT ART AND CHARLIE, MUMBAI, SHOWCASING THE WORKS OF POONAM JAIN AND YOGESH BARVE POSES SEVERAL QUESTIONS TO THE VIEWER
THE HOME THAT WAS
A soon-to-launch gallery at the Partition Museum in Delhi will showcase artefacts capturing 'The Lost Homeland of Sindh'
The Enchanted Forest
A perfect refuge for city-weary folk, Six Senses Vana, the global brand's first dedicated wellness retreat in India, is where you go to retrieve yourself: Rest, reset and rejuvenate, the blockbuster RRR of the wellness universe.