Page 40 - English Tehelka Issue 1&2

Law

state with the permission of the died and 88 were injured. About other State governed forces a free order in UP.” “The officer on the
court and a Special Court would be 1,106 criminals were sent behind hand to deal with the criminals at ground is under pressure to add
constituted for hearing cases under bars. their will and, possibly, it may result to the statistics and present them
the proposed law which proposes a The Chief Minister recently said, into abuse of power by the public before the government and that is
state-level organised crime control “Criminals will be jailed or killed servants.” very worrying,” a Samajwadi Party
authority. in encounters.” Taking suo moto “It is not good for a civilized so- spokesperson recently told media
After the Yogi Adityanath gov- cognizance of the chief minister’s ciety to develop an atmosphere of persons.
ernment came to power in Uttar comments, the National Human fear, emerging out of certain poli- Defending the severe attack
Pradesh with a promise to improve Rights Commission issued a notice cies adopted by the State, which from opposition parties over the
law and order, encounter killings to the UP Chief Secretary calling may result in violation of their right controversy with regard to possi-
appear to have been taken up as for a detailed report on the matter. to life and equality before the law,” bility of misuse of the UPCOC Bill
part of a new strategy to combat “The Government of Uttar Pradesh added the NHRC statement. against its political adversaries and
growing crimes and criminals. As is allegedly endorsing killings in The Opposition has questioned the media, Uttar Pradesh Deputy
per data released by the state gov- encounters by police for seeking the number of encounters cited by Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma
ernment citing its achievements on improvement in law and order situ- the government. The Samajwadi told Tehelka, “The Bill has enough
completing six months of assum- ation in the State,” NHRC said in a Party, which was voted out by the provisions to check its misuse. We
ing power, more than 431 encoun- statement. “NHRC also observed BJP in the assembly elections held
ters have been carried out, which that even if the law and order situ- in March 2017, has called it a “dan-
roughly means one encounter hap- ation is grave, the State cannot re- gerous trend” to use encounters as Encounter killings
pened every 12 hours. The UP Police sort to such mechanism, which may a “yardstick to maintain law and
said that between March 20 and result in the extrajudicial killings of appear to have
September 18, 431 encounters took the alleged criminals. The reported
place in the state wherein 17 crimi- statement of the Chief Minister • Opposing the bill Akhilesh Yadav and been taken up
nals were killed. Two policemen is tantamount to give police and Mayawati are opposed to the UPCOC Bill as part of a
new strategy to
combat growing
The Bill at years and a maximum of life and Psychotropic Substance proof from the prosecution to the powers to the police to arrest crime and
The Bill has shifted the burden of
criminals in UP
imprisonment or even death
accused and members of crime
(NDPS) Act, 1985 under its ambit.
a glance sentence. It also levies a fine of Therefore, procedural law is accused, violating the basic principle syndicates. Under the proposed Bill,
the state would be empowered to
of criminal law that says everyone
5 lakh to 25 lakh and extends the
also likely to be amended as a
consequence. Amending central
stipulated period of filing a charge
seize the property of such people
is innocent until proven guilty. If the
sheet from 90 days to 180 days; laws and implementation person has to prove his or her own after taking the consent of a special have proposed a three-tier system
LegaL experts differentiated The proposed Bill has a machinery defined under those innocence, who will conduct the court constituted to hear the of monitoring at the District, Re-
various criminal laws dealing provision for prolonged police Acts is beyond the legislative investigation? cases - a provision which is already gional and State levels to check its
with organised crime, pointing remand of 30 days for an accused, competence of the state Instead of organising identification operational in the Gangster Act; abuse unlike Karnataka where no
out that the UPCOC Bill has 28 apart from his closed-door government; parade, the police will get the accused The new Bill will allow the state safeguards were provided. The BJP
provisions in addition to the interrogation. It also won’t allow Enlarging the definition of identified through videos and photos to confiscate such assets after government has devised a thorough
Gangsters Act, the existing law those taken into custody on the ‘abet’ in one of its provisions, the that can easily be tampered with; conviction. As in the case of MCOCA, procedure to charge sheet against
against organised crime in U.P. basis of doubts to get bail early; proposed law requires journalists A provision of the UPCOC Bill the UPCOC Bill will also empower the only those who have criminal his-
Critically analysing the salient The confessional statements to take permission from states that those arrested under the police to intercept wire, electronic tory. The whole idea behind the pro-
features of UPCOC Bill, the experts made before the police will competent authorities before Act will be lodged in the high-security or oral communications and present posed legislation is to define organ-
express their reservations about be final. This contradicts the publishing anything on organised area of the jail. Only after permission them before a court as evidence ised crime that brings conspirators,
the possibility of misuse of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), crime. “...passing on or publication of the District Magistrate, their against the accused; protectors along with executors of
proposed law in the following under which only a statement of, without any lawful authority, relatives or associates will be able Since many Central laws and crime under its ambit”.
manner: made before a magistrate will be of any information likely to assist to meet them in jail and only after procedures defined therein are likely Sharma vehemently denied the
The accused persons booked admissible as confession and only organised crime syndicate, and approval of the medical board, the to be amended if UPCOC Bill is passed growing perception of misuse of
under the UPCOC Bill will not when it is made voluntarily; the passing on, or publication of, accused will be granted permission by the Upper House, the Governor the proposed law against the media,
be able to secure bail before six The UPCOC Bill also brings or distribution of any document, to stay in hospital for more than 36 may reserve the Bill for consideration saying, “A free press and media is an
months of their arrest; activities treated as offences or matter, obtained from the hours; and assent of the President of India important organ of our democracy
The convicts would face a under the Money Laundering organised crime syndicate,” says If passed in the present form, after examining the final contents of and our government respects it. We
minimum jail term of three Act, 2002 and Narcotic Drugs the Bill. UPCOC Bill would provide special the Bill. protect impartial journalism.”
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