New Delhi: The Union government on Tuesday approved a Bill seeking stringent punishment, including the death penalty, for hijackers. Following this, the government would now withdraw the Anti-Hijacking Amendment Bill, 2010 and introduce a new legislation.
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi granted its approval for introduction of the comprehensive Anti-Hijacking Bill 2014, an official release said here. The current law, the Anti-Hijacking Act, 1982, was last amended in 1994.
The Cabinet has also given approval to ratify Beijing Protocol, 2010 of the UN body International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to which India is a signatory, the release said.
The Anti-Hijacking Amendment Bill, 2010 was brought after incidents like the hijack of Indian Airlines flight IC-814 in 1999 and the September 11, 2001 terror strikes in the United States, reflecting major threats like civilian aircraft being hijacked.
The proposed law would also give teeth to concerned agencies or security forces to immobilise an aircraft and also allow the IAF to scramble its jets to intercept hijacked aircraft.
