Union home ministry withdraws "draconian" Gujarat anti-terror bill: May resubmit on getting state clarification

By RK Misra*
The controversial Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organised Crime(GCTOC)Bill 2015, passed by the Gujarat Vidhan Sabha but twice rejected by the previous government, has been returned by President Pranab Mukherjee as well. The Union Home Ministry has withdrawn the Bill and will re-submit it after working on the provisions that require Presidential clarity.
Official sources said in Delhi on Thursday, that the President had sent back the Bill because he has sought more input related to certain provisions of the Bill. The Union Home Ministry will provide it "after taking the same from the Gujarat government", a Ministry spokesperson said on Thursday. The Ministry has already communicated to the President that it was withdrawing the Bill which was sent to him in September 2015, and will send back a reworked one.
The Gujarat Control of Organised Crime (GUJCOC)Act was twice rejected by President’s of the Indian Union. It was tabled on the last day of the budget session in the Gujarat Assembly on March 31,2015 in a new form, called the Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organised Crime (GCTOC) Bill, 2015, and passed overriding the protests of the Congress opposition.
Gujarat's minister of state for home Rajnikant Patel strongly built a case for GCTOC on the ground that Gujarat shares a border with Pakistan which sponsors terrorism and such a piece of legislation is required for the safety and security of the people of the state.

"Criminal coteries are known to make common cause with terrorist elements and the two together pose a threat which needs to be curbed forthwith and therefore the need to arm the state with a stringent law like the one brought forward by the state government”, he had said on the floor of the House.
The Anandiben Patel government had taken the stand that "Maharashtra has it’s Maharashtra Control of organized Crime Act (MCOCA), as does Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, but BJP-ruled states like Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan were being denied Presidential Assent”.
The Congress opposition as well as NGOs had opposed the legislation. Gujarat Jan Andolan (GJA), an umbrella grouping of NGOs and several human rights groups petitioned the President to reject the Bill once again and warned of a statewide agitation.

Rajesh Mankad of Jan Sangharsh Manch termed the Bill as a ‘black law’ while DN Rath of the Movement for Secular Democracy (MSD) said that farmers' agitating against land acquisition may well become the first victims of this atrocious Bill, if it becomes a law. Ikram Mirza pointed to the tainted record of the Gujarat police with it’s string of fake encounters and the existing laws had the tenacity to deal with all manner of crime and criminals provided it was used properly.
The Congress opposition both in the state and the centre as well as the JD(U) and the CPM are already on record urging President Pranab Mukherjee against giving his assent to the Gujarat Anti-terror law.
The legislation has a chequred history. The GUJCOC Bill first came up post-2002 because the weapon of choice, Prevention of Terroism Act (POTA) stood repealed. It was, however, returned by President APJ Abdul Kalam, who had objected to clause 14 pertaining to interception of communication and ordered it removed.

In 2008 the Bill was again passed by the State Assembly after removing the clause but retaining the clause for confessions before police as admissible evidence.In 2008 President Pratibha Patil returned the Bill.In 2009,Modi again passed the Bill ignoring the suggestions made by the President and sent it back.
The 2015 Bill passed by the State Assembly arms the police with unbridled powers to tap personal phones without permission and detain people without let or hindrance.
The Bill which has provision for death penalty and fine of Rs 10 lakh empowers phone intercepts and it’s admissibility as evidence in courts.Same applies to confessions extracted by the police.Most importantly, it upturns the law to put the onus of proving ones innocence on the accused.

"The Special Courts shall presume,unless the contrary is proved,that the accused has committed such offence”, the Bill states. The Statement of Objects and Reasons says, "It was considered necessary to enact a special law with stringent provisions, including the power to intercept wire, electronic or oral communication."

It adds, "Person in custody under this Act cannot be released on bail unless the public prosecutor has been given an opportunity to oppose it. And a special court is satisfied there are reasonable grounds to believe accused is not guilty and will not commit any offence while on bail”.
Shaktisinh Gohil, former leader of the Congress Opposition said that GUJCOC was first rejected by the President at a time when the BJP was in power at the Centre.

Shankersinh Vaghela, the present leader of the Opposition said, "It is not for the benefit of the people but for those who are in power”. However the government seeks to defend the clause that provides for 180 days time for filing of a chargesheet under the Act, as necessary because sensitive cases require enhanced investigation time.

GUJCOC was sought to be brought in by the Modi government in Gujarat as the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) enacted by the NDA government in 2002 was repealed by the UPA government immediately after coming to power in 2004. POTA itself had replaced an earlier anti-terrorism law , Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act infamous as TADA which was allowed to lapse by the PV Narasimha Rao government in 1995.
---
*Senior Gandhinagar-based journalist. Blog: http://wordsmithsandnewsplumbers.blogspot.in/

Comments

The silencing of conscience: Ideological attacks on India’s judiciary and free thought

By Sunil Kumar* “Volunteers will pick up sticks to remove every obstacle that comes in the way of Sanatan and saints’ work.” — RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat (November 6, 2024, Chitrakoot) Eleven months later, on October 6, 2025, a man who threw a shoe inside the Supreme Court shouted, “India will not tolerate insults to Sanatan.” This incident was not an isolated act but a continuation of a pattern seen over the past decade—attacks on intellectuals, writers, activists, and journalists, sometimes in the name of institutions, sometimes by individual actors or organizations.

'Violation of Apex Court order': Delhi authorities blamed for dog-bite incidents at JLN Stadium

By A Representative People for Animals (PFA), led by Ms. Ambika Shukla, has held the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) responsible for the recent dog-bite incidents at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, accusing it of violating Supreme Court directions regarding community dogs. The organisation’s on-ground fact-finding mission met stadium authorities and the two affected coaches to verify details surrounding the incidents, both of which occurred on October 3.

N-power plant at Mithi Virdi: CRZ nod is arbitrary, without jurisdiction

By Krishnakant* A case-appeal has been filed against the order of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and others granting CRZ clearance for establishment of intake and outfall facility for proposed 6000 MWe Nuclear Power Plant at Mithi Virdi, District Bhavnagar, Gujarat by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) vide order in F 11-23 /2014-IA- III dated March 3, 2015. The case-appeal in the National Green Tribunal at Western Bench at Pune is filed by Shaktisinh Gohil, Sarpanch of Jasapara; Hajabhai Dihora of Mithi Virdi; Jagrutiben Gohil of Jasapara; Krishnakant and Rohit Prajapati activist of the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a notice to the MoEF&CC, Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Gujarat Coastal Zone Management Authority, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and case is kept for hearing on August 20, 2015. Appeal No. 23 of 2015 (WZ) is filed, a...

History, culture and literature of Fatehpur, UP, from where Maulana Hasrat Mohani hailed

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Maulana Hasrat Mohani was a member of the Constituent Assembly and an extremely important leader of our freedom movement. Born in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh, Hasrat Mohani's relationship with nearby district of Fatehpur is interesting and not explored much by biographers and historians. Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri has written a book on Maulana Hasrat Mohani and Fatehpur. The book is in Urdu. He has just come out with another important book, 'Hindi kee Pratham Rachna: Chandayan' authored by Mulla Daud Dalmai.' During my recent visit to Fatehpur town, I had an opportunity to meet Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri and recorded a conversation with him on issues of history, culture and literature of Fatehpur. Sharing this conversation here with you. Kindly click this link. --- *Human rights defender. Facebook https://www.facebook.com/vbrawat , X @freetohumanity, Skype @vbrawat

New RTI draft rules inspired by citizen-unfriendly, overtly bureaucratic approach

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training , Government of India has invited comments on a new set of Draft Rules (available in English only) to implement The Right to Information Act, 2005 . The RTI Rules were last amended in 2012 after a long period of consultation with various stakeholders. The Government’s move to put the draft RTI Rules out for people’s comments and suggestions for change is a welcome continuation of the tradition of public consultation. Positive aspects of the Draft RTI Rules While 60-65% of the Draft RTI Rules repeat the content of the 2012 RTI Rules, some new aspects deserve appreciation as they clarify the manner of implementation of key provisions of the RTI Act. These are: Provisions for dealing with non-compliance of the orders and directives of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by public authorities- this was missing in the 2012 RTI Rules. Non-compliance is increasingly becoming a major problem- two of my non-compliance cases are...

Citizens’ group to recall Justice Chagla’s alarm as India faces ‘undeclared' Emergency

By A Representative In a move likely to raise eyebrows among the powers-that-be, a voluntary organisation founded during the “dark days” of the Indira Gandhi -imposed Emergency has announced that it will hold a public conference in Ahmedabad to highlight what its office-bearers call today’s “undeclared Emergency.”

Celebrating 125 yr old legacy of healthcare work of missionaries

Vilas Shende, director, Mure Memorial Hospital By Moin Qazi* Central India has been one of the most fertile belts for several unique experiments undertaken by missionaries in the field of education and healthcare. The result is a network of several well-known schools, colleges and hospitals that have woven themselves into the social landscape of the region. They have also become a byword for quality and affordable services delivered to all sections of the society. These institutions are characterised by committed and compassionate staff driven by the selfless pursuit of improving the well-being of society. This is the reason why the region has nursed and nurtured so many eminent people who occupy high positions in varied fields across the country as well as beyond. One of the fruits of this legacy is a more than century old iconic hospital that nestles in the heart of Nagpur city. Named as Mure Memorial Hospital after a British warrior who lost his life in a war while defending his cou...

Epic war against caste system is constitutional responsibility of elected government

Edited by well-known Gujarat Dalit rights leader Martin Macwan, the book, “Bhed-Bharat: An Account of Injustice and Atrocities on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-18)” (available in English and Gujarati*) is a selection of news articles on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-2018) published by Dalit Shakti Prakashan, Ahmedabad. Preface to the book, in which Macwan seeks to answer key questions on why the book is needed today: *** The thought of compiling a book on atrocities on Dalits and thus present an overall Indian picture had occurred to me a long time ago. Absence of such a comprehensive picture is a major reason for a weak social and political consciousness among Dalits as well as non-Dalits. But gradually the idea took a different form. I found that lay readers don’t understand numbers and don’t like to read well-researched articles. The best way to reach out to them was storytelling. As I started writing in Gujarati and sharing the idea of the book with my friends, it occurred to me that while...

From seed to soil: How transnational control is endangering food sovereignty

By Bharat Dogra In recent decades, the world has witnessed a steady erosion of plant diversity in many countries, particularly those in the Global South that were once richly endowed with natural plant wealth. Much of this diversity has been removed from its original ecological and cultural contexts and transferred into gene banks concentrated in developed nations. While conservation of genetic resources is important, the problem arises when access to these collections becomes unequal, particularly when they fall under the control of transnational corporations.

Counterview

Search This Blog