To handle pirates effectively under Indian laws, the government is planning to introduce in Parliament a bill which will give more powers to the Navy and the Coast Guard to deal with the sea brigands.
To handle pirates effectively under Indian laws, the government is planning to introduce in Parliament a bill which will give more powers to the Navy and the Coast Guard to deal with the sea brigands.
The government is planning to bring the anti-piracy bill in the monsoon session of Parliament, sources in the government said.
They said the bill seeks to define piracy, the people who can be termed as pirates, the courts of law which would be trying these pirates and the quantum of punishment to be given to the apprehended sea brigands, they said.
The proposed legislation will establish piracy as a crime and how to deal with it, they said.
Officials said right now piracy is dealt with under the provisions of Indian Penal Code and century-old Admiralty law but the government would now like to have a separate law with provisions to effectively tackle the problem that takes place far away from Indian shores.
Under the bill, the government is also planning to give more powers to the Navy and the Coast Guard to take on the pirates.
They said right now it is the United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea that defines piracy and there is a need to adopt a domestic law on the subject.
After the law comes into effect, they said, the Navy would be able to apprehend pirates in open seas and try them in the Indian courts.
Various ministries including defence, shipping and external affairs have given their suggestions for framing the proposed law.
In the wake of increasing piracy incidents around India, the Navy and Coast Guard have strengthened their deployments off the Lakshadweep islands to keep the sea brigands at bay after they began operating in the region as well.
The Navy has also warded off over 30 piracy attempts since it began deploying warships in the Gulf of Aden in October 2008. Indian warships have safely escorted over 1,600 ships and merchant vessels, of which only around 170 flew the Indian flag, through the strategic trade route since then.
The government has also cleared more aggressive "rules of engagement" and standard operating procedures for Indian warships to take the battle to the pirates in non-hostage situations.
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