Skip to main content

No need for communal violence Bill, amend IPC to make officials criminally responsible: ex-Gujarat DGP

By Our Representative
Former director general of police (DGP) of Gujarat, PGJ Nampoothari, better known as human rights champion, has stirred the hornet’s nest by sounding a different chord from the civil society by declaring that “there is no need” for a separate anti-communal violence Bill, which the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) has been contemplating since 2004, and whose draft was made public for discussion in 2011. Known as the Prevention of Communal Violence (Access to Justice and Reparations) Bill, Nampoothiri believes that, instead of introducing the Bill, all that one needs to do is to “make government officials in charge to be made criminally responsible for failure to control riots.”
“I can tell you from my own experience that there, if the officials in charge of discharging their duties are made criminally responsible for communal riots, the riots will never take place. All that one needs to do is to amend the current Indian Penal Code (IPC), in which officials responsible for dereliction of duty are prosecuted. The punishment should be serious enough to deter officials from doing anything that would lead to escalation of the communal riots”, Nampoothiri said, talking with Counterview, adding, “There should be no need to seek sanction to prosecute officials, either.”
Nampoothiri, who was associated with the National Human Rights Commission between 2002 and 2007, monitoring aftermath of the Gujarat communal riots, said, “It is sad that the anti-communal violence Bill has acquired a political dimension. To avoid such political overtone, the best option before the government would be amend the IPC. In fact, the UPA government could have easily pushed through such an amendment without a hitch during its honeymoon period, after it won polls in 2004, or later in 2009. But, sadly, it kept things lingering, and allowed things to go political.”
Nampoothiri’s remark is significant, as comes close on the Government of India considering to dilute the prosecution clause of the anti-communal violence Bill, in which government officials, who refuse to obey an “unlawful” order of their superiors during communal violence cannot be held responsible for dereliction of duty. The new draft was reworked about a month ago, and there is considerable uncertainty if the UPA will place it before Parliament. “I have my own doubts if the UPA will dare to place the Bill in Parliament because of the political controversy it has acquired”, the ex-IPS officer, who retired from service in 1998, said.
The new draft of the Bill is said to have made several changes in the Bill that was worked out in 2011. The changes in the Bill were sought close on the heels of the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi moved to say that the Bill seeks to take away the states’ powers. Buckling under political pressure, the UPA diluted the provision making the district magistrate responsible for declaring a particular area as communally disturbed and calling Central forces to intervene. It also brought down the maximum penalty for death caused by communal violence — from the Rs 15 lakh proposed to Rs 7 lakh.
The Bill’s fresh changes, which have still not been made public, say that though the new draft finalized by the Union home ministry holds bureaucrats and government officials responsible for all acts of omission and commission during riots, it has made an exception for babus who stand up to unlawful orders by their superiors. According to reports, under the proposed law, any official who exercises the authority vested in him colourably or in a manner likely to lead to riots, or screens a person from legal punishment, or fails to prevent commission of communal violence, shall be guilty of dereliction of duty "provided that the refusal by an official to obey an unlawful order to perform an unlawful duty is not dereliction of duty".

Comments

TRENDING

'Very low rung in quality ladder': Critique of ICMR study on 'sudden deaths' post-2021

By Bhaskaran Raman*  Since about mid-2021, a new phenomenon of extreme concern has been observed throughout the world, including India : unexplained sudden deaths of seemingly healthy and active people, especially youngsters. In the recently concluded Navratri garba celebrations, an unprecedented number of young persons succumbed to heart attack deaths. After a long delay, ICMR (Indian Council for Medical Research) has finally has published a case-control study on sudden deaths among Indians of age 18-45.

SC 'appears to foster' culture of secrecy, does not seek electoral bond details from SBI

By Rosamma Thomas*  In its order of November 2, 2023 on the case of Association for Democratic Reforms vs Union of India contesting constitutional validity of electoral bonds, the Supreme Court directed all political parties to give particulars of the bonds received by them in sealed covers to the Election Commission of India. SC sought that information be updated until September 2023. 

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah*   The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Only 12% of schools RTE compliant: Whither 6% budgetary allocation for education?

By Ambarish Rai* Despite Indian state’s commitment of 6% GDP on education, the Finance Minister completely ignored right to education for children and strengthening implementation of RTE Act which makes education a fundamental right in her budget speech . The Right to Education (RTE) Forum, which is a collective of different stakeholders in education, condemns this neglect of a legal entitlement, which is unconstitutional and demand for overall increase in the budget to ensure improvement in learning outcomes and overall enhancement of quality education.

Savarkar in Ahmedabad 'declared' two-nation theory in 1937, Jinnah followed 3 years later

By Our Representative One of the top freedom fighters whom BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi revere the most, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, was also a great supporter of the two nation theory for India, one for Hindus another for Muslims, claims a new expose on the man who is also known to be the original proponent of the concept of Hindutva.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

'Ambiguous policy': India late in advocating EVs as energy storage in national grid

By Shankar Sharma*  This is regarding the points raised by the Chief Electricity Authority’s (CEA's) advocacy for usage of electrical vehicles (EVs) as energy storage technology, and few associated issues . An objective reading of what he states should reiterate the enormously growing importance of battery energy storage systems (BESS) in our need to transition to a net-zero carbon scenario for the country.

Union Health Ministry, FSSAI 'fail to respond' to NHRC directive on packaged food

By Our Representative  The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has expressed deep concern over the adverse health effects caused by packaged foods high in salt, sugar, and saturated fats. Recognizing it as a violation of the Right to Life and Right to Health of Indian citizens, the quasi-judicial body called for a response from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) regarding its selection of front-of-pack labels aimed at providing consumers with information to make healthier choices.

Is India emulating west, 'using' anti-terror plank to justify state-supported violence?

Fahad Ahmad, Baljit Nagra*  Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has accused India of being involved in the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian Sikh leader, on Canadian soil. Narendra Modi’s right-wing Hindu nationalist Indian government is defiant and denies involvement. Indian officials have instead admonished Canada for being a “ safe haven ” for Sikh “terrorism,” a pejorative for Sikh self-determination .