Jaipur: Misbehaviour with tourists in Rajasthan is a cognizable offence and is a non-bailable one if repeated. On Monday night, the state assembly passed a bill to insert a new section 27-A into the Rajasthan Tourism Trade (Facilitation and Regulation) Act, 2010. The Rajasthan Tourism Trade (Facilitation and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2021 was passed by voice vote.
The tourism industry in Rajasthan is one of the key factors that attracts lakhs of domestic and foreign tourists every year. The visitors, however, are frequently confronted with touts, illegal vendors and unsightly elements.
As per section 27-A, ‘All the offences punishable under the Act shall be cognizable and bailable: provided that the offences punishable under subsection (3) and sub-section (4) of section 13 of the Act shall be cognisable and non-bailable.’ As stated in Section 13 (3), whoever commits a subsequent offence of touting shall be arrested without a warrant by the police and prohibited from holding office for a period of three years or fined up to Rs 30,000 or both. According to 13 (4), whoever, habitually engages in the practice of touting even after having been punished more than once, shall be arrested without warrant by police and punished on conviction with rigorous imprisonment of up to seven years or a fine up to Rs 1 lakh or both.
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In response to a question about the bill, the Minister of State for Tourism, Govind Singh Dotasra, said that it was brought in 2010 to boost tourism and prevent misbehaviour by tourists. He said, however, as it was not mentioned whether the offence was bailable or non-bailable, it had to be amended. Mr. Dotasra said police stations were set up in Jaipur and Udaipur by the state government to check touting and cases were lodged last year and challans submitted.
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