With BNS, long arm of law set to extend to foreign shores | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill, 2023 seeks to introduce a provision for attachment and forfeiture of proclaimed offenders’ properties located not just within the country but also outside India. Also, new sections are proposed to be added to make waging of war against the government of a foreign State at peace with India as well as committing of depredation on the territory of such foreign State, an offence punishable with up to seven years in prison.

The section dealing with attachment of property of a proclaimed offender abroad provides that the superintendent of police or commissioner of police shall make an application to the court and thereafter that court shall initiate steps to request assistance from a court or an authority in the contracting country for identification, attachment and forfeiture of property belonging to a proclaimed offender.
A person can currently be declared ‘proclaimed offender’ only under a few sections. Even heinous offences like rape, trafficking, etc. are not covered under this category. An amendment is proposed in the BNS Bill to provide for declaration of an accused as proclaimed offender in all offences punishable with imprisonment of 10 years or more, or with life imprisonment or death.

Besides making an act of secession, armed rebellion, subversive activities, separatist activities or endangering sovereignty or unity and integrity of India an offence, the Bill seeks to take into account that sometimes one may commit an act in any foreign country which is at peace with India. Sections 151-153 of proposed BNS prescribes the punishment for such acts too.
As per Section 151, “whoever wages war against the government of any foreign state at peace with the government of India or attempts to wage such war, or abets the waging of such war, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or for a term which may extend to seven years, with/without fine”. Similar punishment has been provided under Section 152 for depredation. As per this section, “whoever commits depredation, or makes preparations to commit depredation, on the territories of any foreign State at peace with the Government of India, shall be punished with imprisonment… which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine and to forfeiture of any property used or intended to be used in committing such depredation, or acquired by such depredation”.
Section 153 also provides for a maximum seven-year jail term to anyone who receives a property knowing the same to have been taken in the commission of any of the offences mentioned in Sections 151 and 152. Such a person shall be liable to forfeiture of the property so received.
The proposed BNS adds a new section to enable the police, with the permission of the court, to seize and attach property obtained as proceeds of crime, excluding cases under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).