Vandals to pay for damages to public property

NEW DELHI: The Law Commission is likely to recommend that people involved in damaging public property get bail only after depositing money equivalent to the loss caused by them.

Recommending changes in the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, the law panel is likely to propose stringent bail provisions for those involved in damaging public property, it is learnt.

There was a feeling that if people involved in damaging public property pay the amount equivalent to the value of the asset destroyed, it would deter others from resorting to such actions.

In 2015, the government had proposed amending the law but a Bill could not be brought. The Commission had undertaken the project on the subject against the backdrop of certain Supreme Court directions and judgments by some high benches.

The Law Commission has recommended that criminal defamation should be retained within the scheme of criminal laws.