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Fugitive offenders Bill passed
Why in the news ?
- Lok Sabha passed the Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill, which will now replace the ordinance by the same name promulgated by the President in April.
Background
- The legislation gains importance against the backdrop of high-profile cases where individuals such as Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi escaped the country.
- A fugitive economic offender is one who has left the country to avoid facing prosecution, or refuses to return to face prosecution.
- The absence of such offenders from Indian courts hampers investigation in criminal cases.
- It also wastes precious time of courts of law.
- Also it has been very difficult to bring them back for trial due to issues of extradition and others.
Salient features of the Bill
- Making an application before the special court for a declaration that an individual is a fugitive economic offender.
- Attachment of the property of a fugitive economic offender and proceeds of crime.
- Issue of a notice by the special court to the individual alleged to be a fugitive economic offender.
- Confiscation of the property of an individual declared as a fugitive economic offender or even the proceeds of crime.
- Disentitlement of the fugitive economic offender from defending any civil claim.
- Appointment of an administrator to manage and dispose of the confiscated property under the act.
- Some of the offences listed in the schedule of the bill are-counterfeiting government stamps or currency, cheque dishonour for insufficiency of funds, money laundering, transactions defrauding creditors etc. „
- The Bill allows the central government to amend the schedule through a notification.
Source
The Hindu, PIB