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Petitioners say many provisions of Pota infringe fundamental rights
New Delhi, Apr 03: Petitioners challenging the legal validity of Pota today submitted before the Supreme Court that many provisions of the act infringed the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution and requested the court to set aside the controversial legislation.
New Delhi, Apr 03: Petitioners challenging the legal validity of Pota today submitted before the Supreme Court that many provisions of the act infringed the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution and requested the court to set aside the controversial legislation.
Appearing for Peoples Union for Civil Liberty, senior advocate Rajinder Sachar submitted before a bench comprising Justice S Rajender Babu and Justice G P Mathur that provision of Pota making statements of accused before police admissible as evidence runs counter to his basic right under criminal law.
Referring to recent case of misuse of Pota in some states, he said that the act did not contain adequate safeguard to honour the fundamental rights of the citizens. "Any law can be misused," the bench responded.
Stating that majority of the states were not implementing the Pota, Sachar said as to what would happen if the central legislation is not implemented across India.
The bench said, "A state which repeatedly said that it was not going to implement the act, is now invoking the same to set a crime." Admitting that it was the state of Maharashtra, Sachar said security falls under the purview of public order, which is exclusively within the legislative domain of states.
As Pota was to deal with security, it should ideally have been enacted by the states and Parliament had no legislative competence to enact the same, he said.
He said that in case of Tada, every state was directed by the Apex Court to constitute high-level screening committees to review application of Tada in criminal cases. However, he said, no such screening committee has been constituted in states to check the misuse of Pota.
Bureau Report
Referring to recent case of misuse of Pota in some states, he said that the act did not contain adequate safeguard to honour the fundamental rights of the citizens. "Any law can be misused," the bench responded.
Stating that majority of the states were not implementing the Pota, Sachar said as to what would happen if the central legislation is not implemented across India.
The bench said, "A state which repeatedly said that it was not going to implement the act, is now invoking the same to set a crime." Admitting that it was the state of Maharashtra, Sachar said security falls under the purview of public order, which is exclusively within the legislative domain of states.
As Pota was to deal with security, it should ideally have been enacted by the states and Parliament had no legislative competence to enact the same, he said.
He said that in case of Tada, every state was directed by the Apex Court to constitute high-level screening committees to review application of Tada in criminal cases. However, he said, no such screening committee has been constituted in states to check the misuse of Pota.
Bureau Report