Vagrancy and begging are products of social exclusion and marginalisation. Yet, legislative
norms and administrative practices on vagrancy/begging at the state
level in India have been marked by a punitive approach. Statutes like the Bombay Prevention of Begging Act, 1959 and Bengal Vagrancy Act, 1943 have treated begging as a 'law-and-order' problem that can be addressed through criminalisation and detention of vagrants and often lack clear mandate on rehabilitation. Further, in their sweeping definition of 'vagrants' or 'begging', these statutes have criminalised all forms of ostensible poverty. I had written about this in detail earlier here. For more on state response to poverty, you can read this excellent piece by Usha Ramanathan.
However, it appears that the Union Government is finally proposing a paradigm shift in the legal response to begging and vagrancy. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India has prepared a Draft Persons in Destitution (Protection, Care and Rehabilitation) Bill 2015 with the objective of decriminalising begging and providing protection, care and rehabilitative support for persons living in destitution. As the Statement of Objects and Reasons indicate, the Bill seeks to create a legislative regime on protection that respects the dignity of persons in destitution. In an official press release, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has made a public acknowledgment about its Draft Bill. This draft has been circulated among all the state governments for their views. We hope that this inter-governmental consultation would be followed by consultation with civil society organisations too.
You can read more about the Bill here in this report by the Indian Express which quotes Tarique Qureshi, the coordinator of Koshish, a Tata Institute of Social Sciences' Project on Homelessness and Destitution.
The Department of Women and Child Development, Government, West Bengal, had asked me, among others, to comment on the Draft Bill. In the interest of greater transparency and consultative law-making, I am sharing the Draft Bill that was shared with me and my comments on the Draft.
Inspired by the initiative of the Central Government, the Department of Women & Child Development and Social Welfare had formed a Committee to Review the Bengal Vagrancy Act 1943. I was a part of this Committee. This Committee recently submitted its recommendations to the Ministry. In our report, we have recommended a radical overhaul of the Act in order to institute a non-coercive model of protection for persons in destitution. A draft of our recommendations can be found here.
