MHA to send Verma report to House panel

Under fire from the Justice J S Verma committee for lapses during the recent protests, the Ministry of Home Affairs will seek responses from the state governments on the panel's recommendations. The government will also send the report to a parliamentary panel for consideration.

Officials said the ministry is studying the report and would forward any fresh recommendations to the parliamentary standing committee on home affairs. They said no time frame has been fixed to introduce the proposed amendments in Parliament.

Last week, the standing committee, headed by BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu, had requested the MHA to send the Verma panel's report to it.

MHA officials said most of the recommendations made in the report are already present in the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill, 2012 which was introduced before the Lok Sabha on December 4 last year. "We have already discussed offences like stalking and voyeurism. Such offences are difficult to prove in a court of law and will also result in widespread misuse," said a senior official.

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