Anti-Hijack Bill to be brought in House soon

New Delhi:Almost 15 years after Kandahar hijack, a Bill to award death penalty to hijackers and give the right to security forces to shoot down an aircraft which may be used as a missile is likely to be brought to Parliament soon.

Officials of the civil aviation ministry are in parleys with their counterparts in the law and justice ministry to take forward the Anti-Hijacking (Amendment) Bill to amend the 1982 Act which was cleared by the Cabinet in 2010.

It was then introduced in Rajya Sabha and referred to a standing committee. The Bill did not see the light of the day thereafter. Discussions are veered around issues like incorporating the latest global anti-hijack laws and bring the law in line with the Beijing Protocol of ICAO.