Home ministry clears controversial Gujarat anti-terror bill, but concerns over 'draconian' provisions persist

A controversial anti-terror bill in Gujarat, giving stronger powers of arrest and investigation to authorities, has been cleared by the home ministry, the The Economic Times has reported. [caption id=“attachment_2445632” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Rajnath Singh. Image courtesy: AFP[/caption] The report states that the bill titled ‘Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organised Crime Bill’ had been pending since 2001, when Narendra Modi was the chief minister of the state. According to the report, while the home ministry had some reservations about the bill, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh cleared it as he felt that there had been delay in bringing about a law giving more powers to Gujarat to combat terrorism. With the clearance from the home ministry, it can now become a law if it receives the approval of the President. The bill had been returned to the state legislature twice in 2004 and 2008 by then Presidents APJ Abdul Kalam and Pratibha Patil, The Hindu reported. The report quoted an activist as saying that the bill amounted to an “undeclared emergency” and that it was draconian in its nature. As reported by _Firstpost_ in April, the bill allows for a confession to be admissible in court if it is recorded before a police official of the rank of Superintendent of Police. It also allows intercepted communication to be used as evidence. Further, it allows for a period of 180 days for the police to complete its investigation in a terror case. At present, under the Code of Criminal Procedure, if the police does not file a chargesheet in 90 days in serious offences, the accused is entitled to bail. According to The Hindu report, the proposed law also gives immunity to the state government from legal action, stating that no legal proceeding can be filed if an act was done ‘in good faith.’ The report quotes an activist as saying that the proposed law effectively means that a person can be detained for up to 180 days on the basis of phone records.