Punjab: Cabinet nod to amendments to absorb MLAs into corporations, boards

As per the amendment, the MLAs would be entitled to “compensatory allowance” (not exceeding the amount of daily allowance to which an MLA is entitled under the Punjab Legislative Assembly (Salary and Allowances of Members) Act, 1942), any conveyance allowance, house rent allowance or travelling allowance for the purpose of enabling him to recoup any expenditure incurred by him in performing the functions of that office.

The amendment adds seven categories of positions to the existing list out of the ambit of “office of profit”. These include any office held by a minister (including the CM), Minister of State or Deputy Minister (whether ex-officio or by name), the office of chairperson, vice-chairperson and deputy chairperson of the State Planning Board, leader or deputy leader of a recognised party in the Vidhan Sabha, the office of the chief whip, deputy chief whip in the Vidhan Sabha, office of chairperson or member of the syndicate, senate and executive committee of any university.

The office of the chairperson or members of a committee set up temporarily to advise the government and the office of the chairperson, director or member of any statutory or non-statutory body – provided they are not entitled to any remuneration other than compensatory allowance – have been kept out of the ambit of office of profit.

In another significant decision, the Cabinet gave its approval to extend to the state two major ordinances recently promulgated by the Government of India, relating to cases involving rapes and fugitive economic offenders.

The meeting approved re-publication of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 2018 (Ordinance No.2 of 2018), promulgated by the Government of India to make the law on rape more stringent, in Punjab Gazette for information of the general public and its effective implementation in the state.

Further, in consonance with the Finance Ministry’s proposal of promulgating the Fugitive Economic Offenders Ordinance, 2018, the Cabinet gave its nod to republish the aforesaid ordinance in the official Gazette of the state in the larger public interest.

Besides death penalty for rape of a girl child under 12 years of age, the Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance amends the IPC to provide for enhancement of minimum punishment for rape from the existing 7 to 10 years. The minimum punishment for the offence of rape of a girl child under 16 years of age has been fixed at life imprisonment, as against the earlier provision of 20 years of rigorous imprisonment, extendable to imprisonment for rest of convict’s life.

The provision of anticipatory bail to the person accused of rape or gang rape of a girl under 12 years/16 years of age has also been done away with. Further the High Court or the Court of Sessions, before deciding the regular bail applications, will give notice of 15 days to the Public Prosecutor to appear for hearing of the application, where presence of a person Authorized by victim shall be mandatory.

As far as the fugitive economic offenders are concerned, the Ordinance empowers the authorities to attach and confiscate properties and assets of economic offenders, such as loan defaulters, who flee the country.

The Ordinance was promulgated by the Centre in the wake of the recent financial frauds, especially the Rs 13,000-crore PNB scam where Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi fled the country.