940 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
of fine and there might be an offender who might be prepared even to pay the five hundred rupees in order to escape the clutches of the law. What good can such punishment do ? The Indian Penal Code prescribes a variety of punishments, a variety of them in section 53 : death, transportation, imprisonment, forfeiture of property, fine, whipping, detention in reformatory. There are seven offences for which the Penal Code fixes death penalty; for 50 offences the punishment is transportation; for 21 offences—simple imprisonment; for 12 offences—fine. In all other cases the imprisonment is rigorous. Why my friend has thought so little of this Bill as not to prescribe adequate punishment, it is very difficult for me to understand, I mean, the least that one can expect from him is to prescribe a minimum, may be three months, it does not matter, a minimum of three months’ imprisonment and fine if he wants to fix fine—I am not for inflicting a fine because that only benefits the treasury, but if you say that the fine will go to the victim, I am for fine also. Otherwise I do not want fine.
Shri B. B. Sharma (Uttar Pradesh) : Why not the maximum penalty of death ?
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : Well, if you like it, have it—I am not so cruel as that and I do not think you are sincere in suggesting it, and, as I said, there are not cases in the Indian Penal Code where minimum punishment has not been prescribed or rigorous imprisonment has not been prescribed. There are three sections here which prescribe rigorous imprisonment, sections 194,226 and 449. Then the Penal Code has prescribed the minimum period of imprisonment in sections 397 and 398. I do not see why, when there is the precedent, the precedent should not be …………
Dr. K. N. Katju : What is 397 ?
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : Dacoity. That is worse than dacoity. I think, to starve a man and not to allow him to take water, I think, it is almost causing death. That is, I think, one drawback in the Bill. Then, Sir, the second drawback in the Bill is that there is no provision for taking security for good behaviour. The Criminal Procedure Code has got four sections,