Maharashtra Shields Acid Attack Victims, Criminalizes Online Harassment of Women

The two provisions that are being introduced via amendment include non-disclosure of names of victims of acid attack and penalising harassment via phone, social media, lewd digital communication, deepfake or unauthorised dissemination of a woman's photos or videos.

CM Fadnavis said that most of the provisions in the Shakti Act figured in the BNS and therefore, two state amendments were proposed through the Bill based on the report submitted by Maharashtra Director General of Police.

CM Fadnavis said that as per the BNS there is a non-disclosure clause whereby the names and identity of victims of rape, molestation and related excesses are not disclosed.

The amendment explicitly prohibits the disclosure of the name, address, or any identifiable information of an acid attack victim. This is intended to protect survivors from social stigma and potential retaliation during the trial.

As far as the second provision is concerned, the harassment of women through phone, social media and related platforms will attract punitive action as applicable to rape, molestation and other excesses on women, said the chief minister.

The amendment was pursued because the original Shakti Bill (2020) faced technical delays in receiving Presidential assent as it was tied to the now-repealed IPC and CrPC.

By amending the BNS directly, the Maharashtra government has established an updated legal framework that satisfies constitutional requirements while maintaining the high standards for victim protection originally envisioned.

The Shakti Act (formally the Shakti Criminal Laws (Maharashtra Amendment) Act) represents a major shift in how the state handles crimes against women and children. Originally drafted in 2020 and updated in 2026 to align with the new BNS, its provisions focus on extreme deterrence, rapid investigation, and digital safety.

The Shakti Act had introduced significantly harsher penalties for heinous offences. It had proposed death penalty permissible for rape and gang rape in cases deemed "heinous" with conclusive evidence.

Further there was a provision for mandatory death penalty or life imprisonment for the sexual assault of children under 16 (under certain conditions).

The Shakti Act aimed to bypass the "justice delayed" hurdle by mandating strict deadlines whereby investigation must be completed within 15 to 30 working days from the filing of the FIR.

Trial must be concluded within 30 working days of the chargesheet being filed, utilising day-to-day hearings. The time limit for appeals has been drastically reduced to 45 days (down from the standard 6 months).

CM Fadnavis reiterated that these provisions were part of BNS except non-disclosure of acid attack victims and digital harassment. Therefore, the government tabled the Bill to amend BNS.

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) legislator, Bhaskar Jadhav and NCP (SP) legislator Jitendra Awhad pleaded that the government should bring in new laws or include provisions to protect men from harassment.

CM Fadnavis assured them the government will certainly look into their suggestions.

- IANS