Guwahati, Feb 26: The Assam Healing (Prevention of Evil) Practices Bill, 2024 was passed on Monday on the final day of the budget session.
The bill aims to promote social awakening in the society and to create healthy, science-based knowledge and safe social environment to protect human health against the evil and sinister practices thriving on ignorance and ill health of people to eradicate the non-scientific healing practices with ulterior motives for exploiting the innocent people and thereby destroying the fabric of the public health of society for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
The legislation prohibits any advertisements related to any kind of medicine or remedy that falsely claims to cure diseases through healing practices. The bill includes several key sections aimed at curbing inhuman, evil or magical healing practices.
Section 5 of the bill empowers the government to impose punishment for any act or promotion of such practices. Section 6 extends this to include imprisonment for one year, extendable up to three years, or a fine of Rs 50,000, or both.
Congress leader Debabrata Saikia said that there is lack of clarity in defining ‘evil practices’ in the new Bill, which is an attempt to impose a uniform civil code in Assam.
He further said that there are traditional healing practices in Assam that differ from community to community.
Reacting to Saikia’s comment, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma clarified that the Bill did not seek to ban traditional healing practices but was aimed at stopping those exploiting people by claiming to cure incurable diseases for financial gain. He further said that the Bill had no connection with the uniform civil code.
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