December 7, 2022
Kalyan Banerjee’s speech on The Anti-Maritime Piracy Bill, 2019
Hon. Chairman, Sir, first of all, I convey my thanks to you for giving me a chance to speak on this Anti-Maritime Piracy Bill, 2019. The Anti-Maritime Piracy Bill, 2019 proposes the Indian authorities to take action against piracy in the high seas. The Bill brings into law
the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea which applies to the sea beyond the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), i.e., beyond 200 nautical miles from India’s coastline. India signed the United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea on 10th December, 1982, and ratified it on 29th June, 1995.Piracy is an ancient phenomenon, and its history dates to hundreds of years. It was only in the 20th Century that the codification of piracy related customary laws and practices began. Sir, the marine environment, after the 1972 United Nations Conference
on the Human Environment in Stockholm, and the conclusion of significant specific conventions (The London Dumping Convention of 1972, and the MARPOL Convention of 1973) became a broadly accepted objective. According to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, piracy is defined as “any illegal act of violence or detention or any act of depredation committed for private ends by the crew or the passengers of a private ship.” Sir, in accordance with the UNCLOS, the Bill defines piracy as ‘any illegal act of violence, detention, or destruction committed against a ship, aircraft, person or property for private purposes by the crew or the passengers of a private ship or aircraft.’ Sir, different characteristics of piracy are there and I am not going into the details. I would just make a few
important points. The International Maritime Organisation is addressing maritime piracy for some time. Sir, the Jeddah Amendment to the Djibouti Code of Conduct, 2017 (DCoC) expanded to include human trafficking and other illegal maritime activities in the Western Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden area. So many activities are taking place there. Due to paucity of time, I am not going into
the details. During the period 2009 to 2019, over 500 Indians were captured by pirates around the world at various points of time. The United Nations Security Council, in a number of resolutions adopted since 2008, urged the UN Member states to cooperate in investigation and prosecution of all persons responsible for acts of piracy and further called upon states to criminalise piracy under their domestic law and to favourably consider the prosecution of suspected and imprisoned pirates. Now, the question is whether we can draw a line or can fence on a solid land which is impossible to make a barrier or line on a liquid or on sea. Hence, the system of straight baselines may not be applied by a State in such a manner to cut off the territorial sea of another State from the high seas or an exclusive
economic zone. Sir, I would like to give an information through my speech. The creeks along the coasts of Gujarat and West Bengal’s Sundarbans are the most preferred routes for infiltration and smuggling. The security in EEZ is also very important for which the State Police has no role to play. It is, therefore, important that imperative and corrective measures are implemented to address the inadequacies to realise the potential of maritime sector. The CAG in its Report has said that manpower shortage proved to be the major hindrance in
functioning of marine police stations to guard a long coastline. The surveillance must be strengthened on international border, on high-seas and on the maritime border. There is also a special training to be imparted to coastal police before they get posted in coastal police stations. The problem is this. The coastal police training is very inadequate in our country. This is really inadequate in every State having the coastal line. I would like to request the hon. Minister to give stress on that and see that this maritime police should be well trained.
Unless they are well-trained, they cannot detect or capture the problem. There is an arena which I have found. According to me, we are still very weak in that. Sir, as far as punishment for piracy is concerned, a detailed procedure has been stated. I am not going to touch it further. The Supreme Court of India has also held that awarding a mandatory death penalty for an offence violates Articles 14 and 21 of the Indian Constitution. Hence, it is arbitrary and unfair in nature. Even Section 303 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 27, Sub-Section 3 or the Arms Act, 1959, which provided mandatory death penalty for offenders, have been struck down by the Supreme Court. Kindly take note of this and consider this part. Since the interpretation has been changed, I am suggesting that it should be “life imprisonment till death” instead of “mandatory imposition of death penalty”. Kindly consider that part. In England, the penalty for the offence of the piracy was the death penalty but that has been abolished and now the penalty is ‘life imprisonment’. That has been
done. Our Supreme Court is also saying that mandatory death penalty is offending Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution. It is mainly offending Article 21 of the Constitution. Therefore, kindly substitute this word with ‘imprisonment for life’ if such a person is committing piracy which causes death or endangers one’s life or destructs a ship or an aircraft or any other means of public transport. As far as my reading is concerned, I have gone through this Bill. I am a Member of the Home Affairs Consultative Committee also. I got the scope to
speak also at different occasions. I will request you to put an emphasis on two or three arenas. We are supporting or accepting the clause of death penalty and it is because of the adoption of various conventions that I have already mentioned in my speech. The first thing is this. What I have observed is that the coastal police is limited even in States. There, in every State, training is essentially required. Do not compare them with the police of the other areas. So, this has to be given emphasis. You should introduce that centrally. The training has to be essentially given. Secondly, I come to border areas where the State arena is over. Immediately, after 8NM, the national-level police or any other police concerned has to take the responsibility of that arena. That is nobody’s arena. The activities like smuggling and all that are done in that arena. So, kindly take care of this issue. I have already mentioned about the issue of death penalty. Of course, this
Bill was required to be introduced much earlier. With these words, I support this Bill. Thank you.
