Sunday, November 6 2005 15:23 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Stalkers beware! Following a woman could land you in jail for up to seven years if a proposed Bill seeking to revamp laws pertaining to sexual assault comes through.

The Amendment Bill drafted by the National Commission for Women (NCW) for the first time ever defines 'stalking' for the statute book and incorporates it as a punishable offence.

The draft Bill proposes to add a new Section 509 B, in continuation of Section 509 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), that deals with eve-teasing, to create a new offence of 'stalking a woman' and defines it in detail.

"For the first time stalking has been defined for the law book. The need for such a law has been felt since the infamous Priyadarshini Mattoo case, and I admit we have been slow to respond," Kirti Singh of All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA), who has played an important role in the drafting of the Bill, told PTI.

On January 23, 1996, Mattoo was strangled to death in her house in South Delhi allegedly by one Santosh Kumar Singh, who is also accused to have stalked her on several occasions prior to the alleged murder.

As per the amendment proposed by NCW, a person shall be taken to stalk a woman if on at least three occasions the person follows or approaches the woman, loiters near her, watches, approaches or enters a place where she resides, works or visits, keeps her under surveillance or interferes with a possession of her's.

Sending offensive material to the woman or leaving such material where it is likely to be found by, given to or brought to the attention of the woman, telephoning or otherwise contacting her, acting covertly in a manner that could reasonably be expected to arouse apprehension or fear or engaging in conduct amounting to intimidation would also be an offence under Section 509 B. The IPC at present does not recognise the specificity of this offence and stalking is dealt with as a case of eve-teasing, for which the maximum punishment is one year in jail.

"It has been recognised as one of the more severe forms of harassment of a woman. The Bill makes it an offence, punishable by up to seven years plus fine," Singh said.

The Bill, to be sent to the Government this month, meanwhile, also redefines the original Section 509, that deals with eve-teasing, replacing the phrase 'with the intention of outraging the modesty' with the more specific 'made with a sexual purpose'.

As per the proposed Amendment, 'words', 'gestures' and 'sounds' would be punishable if made with a sexual purpose.