GOVT SAYS NO TO MOVE FOR STRICTER SATI LAW

Cabinet members, including minister for mines Sis Ram Ola, and science and technology minister Kapil Sibal had objected to the amendments in a meeting in September. Ola, who hails from Jhunjhunu, raised several issues. He said the proposals would challenge existing mores. “What would happen to the Sati temples and how would the government deal with the tradition of worship at these temples,” he asked. Sibal had pointed out certain legal lapses in the bill that holds the panchayat and onlookers responsible for “participation” in bride-burning. The bill had recommended that the village be heavily fined and the panchayat be made responsible for alerting the police and the district magistrate to any such incident. The proposed legislation recommended that coercing a woman to commit Sati be made a non-bailable offence. The amendments were cleared by a GoM in August 2007.