Civil society groups tell Gujarat governor: New anti-terror law will mean undeclared emergency in the state

OP Kohli

By A Representative
The Movement for Secular Democracy (MSD) and People’s Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL), Gujarat, in representation to Gujarat governor OP Kohli have asked him reject the Gujarat Control of Terrorism and organized Crimes (GCTOC), passed by the Gujarat state assembly on March 31, saying, if this bill turned into an Act, it will be a “mockery of democracy” and would among to “undeclared emergency like situation” in Gujarat.
In a memorandum submitted to the governor, they have said, the till is a “synthesis of the Gujarat Gujarat Control of Organised Crime (GUJCOC) Bill, which was rejected for four times by the President of India, and anti-terrorism laws already dropped the Parliament such as Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Prevention Act (TADA) and Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA).
Pointing out that it is modeled on the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), the two civil rights organizations said, “The bill is in inconsistent with the policy on terror laws as mentioned in the Central Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.”
The memorandum said, “The earlier versions having been rejected by governors as well as Presidents of India in 2004, 2008 and 2009.”
Giving an example of how such strict laws were always misused by the Gujarat police, the memorandum said, “A total 11,916 were arrested under Prevention of Anti-Social Activities (PASA) Act between 2009 and 2014 in Gujarat”, of of these, more than 10,000 were acquitted by the Court and the PASA board, suggesting how it was being politically misused.
Giving details of “objectionable” parts of the GCTOC, the memorandum said, “The draconian provisions of this bill centre around Clause 16 which holds that confessions made by persons before a police officer not below the rank of police superintendent will be admissible in trials of the accused/co-accused/abettor or conspirator.”
Other “draconian” provisions, the memorandum said, included allowing evidence collected through the interception of wire, electronic or oral communication admissible in the court against accused; and allowing the period of investigation to be extended to 180 days so that the police have more time to keep an accused in custody.
"Moreover”, the memorandum says, “the Bill provides immunity from legal action to the state, as Clause 25 of the bill indicates that no suit, prosecution or legal proceedings shall lie against the state government or officer of authority of the same in pursuance of the law”.
Further, the according to the memorandum, the bill prevents an accused from getting bail “while in custody”; it makes “offences under the bill non-bailable”; and it says that no person accused of offences under the law should be “released on either bail or his own bond.”
Pointing out that the bill “promote police tyranny and abuse of the law in order to settle political scores”, the memorandum asserts, “As a matter of fact the Code of Criminal Procedure is adequate enough to deal with the internal security. So there is no need to enact GCTOC.”
This Bill is aimed to gag the voice of people of the state who are anguished because of the Land Acquisition Act, Anti Laborlaws , rising corruptions exposed in recently tabled CAG Report in Gujarat Assembly and growing unemployment and insecurities of the people.
Among those who have signed the bill include human rights PUCL general secretary Gautam Thaker, MSD’s Dwarikanath Rath, economists Rohit Shukla and Hemantkumar Shah, Jesuit human rights activist Father Cedric Prakash, columnist and film maker Manishi Jani, journalists Rathin Das and Rafat Quadri, apart from large number of social activists.

Comments

Civil society flags widespread violations of land acquisition Act before Parliamentary panel

By Jag Jivan Civil society organisations and stakeholders from across India have presented stark evidence before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj , alleging systemic violations of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RFCTLARR) Act, 2013 , particularly in Scheduled Areas and tribal regions.

When democracy becomes a performance: The Tibetan exile experience

By Tseten Lhundup* I was born in Bylakuppe, one of the largest Tibetan settlements in southern India. From childhood, I grew up in simple barracks, along muddy roads, and in fields with limited resources. Over the years, I have watched our democratic system slowly erode. Observing the recent budget session of the 17th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exile, these “democratic procedures” appear grand and orderly on the surface, yet in reality they amount to little more than empty formalities. The parliamentarians seem largely disconnected from the everyday struggles faced by ordinary exiled Tibetans like us.

Manufacturing, services: India's low-skill, middle-skill labour remains underemployed

By Francis Kuriakose* The Indian economy was in a state of deceleration well before Covid-19 made its impact in early 2020. This can be inferred from the declining trends of four important macroeconomic variables that indicate the health of the economy in the last quarter of 2019.

Food security? Gujarat govt puts more than 5 lakh ration cards in the 'silent' category

By Pankti Jog* A new statistical report uploaded by the Gujarat government on the national food security portal shows that ensuring food security for the marginalized community is still not a priority of the state. The statistical report, uploaded on December 24, highlights many weaknesses in implementing the National Food Security Act (NFSA) in state.

Why Indo-Pak relations have been on 'knife’s edge' , hostilities may remain for long

By Utkarsh Bajpai* The past few decades have seen strides being made in all aspects of life – from sticks and stones to weaponry. The extreme case of this phenomenon has been nuclear weapons. The menace caused by nuclear weapons in the past is unforgettable. Images of Hiroshima and Nagasaki from 1945 come to mind, after the United States dropped two atomic bombs on the cities.

Incarceration of Prof Saibaba 'revives' the question: What is crime, who is criminal?

By Kunal Pant* In 2016, a Supreme Court Judge asked the state of Maharashtra, “Do you want to extract a pound of flesh?” The statement was directed against the state for contesting the bail plea of Delhi University Professor GN Saibaba. Saibaba was arrested in 2014, a justification for which was to prevent him from committing what the police called “anti-national activities.”

The soundtrack of resistance: How 'Sada Sada Ya Nabi' is fueling the Iran war

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* The Persian track “ Sada Sada Ya Nabi ye ” by Hossein Sotoodeh has taken the world by storm. This viral media has cut across linguistic barriers to achieve cult status, reaching over 10 million views. The electrifying music and passionate rendition by the Iranian singer have resonated across the globe, particularly as the high-intensity military conflict involving Iran entered its second month in March 2026.

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.

Beyond the island: Top mythologist reorients the geography of the Ramayana

By Jag Jivan In a compelling new analysis that challenges conventional geographical assumptions about the ancient epic, writer and mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik has traced the roots of the Ramayana to the forests and river systems of Central and Eastern India, rather than the peninsular south or the modern island nation of Sri Lanka.

Search This Blog