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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Views of states sought to treat terrorism and organised crime as 'federal crimes'-Aman Sharma

Views of states sought to treat terrorism and organised crime as 'federal crimes'-Aman Sharma

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published Published on Oct 9, 2012   modified Modified on Oct 9, 2012
-The Economic Times

The home ministry has sought the opinion of all states on whether offences like terrorism and organised crime can be treated as federal frames. It has forwarded the 5th Report of the second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) to states, asking for their comments on each of the 152 recommendations that relate to state governments. This report, submitted to the government in June 2007, is among the only two reports out of the 15 submitted by ARC on which there has been so far no consultation with states. 

Several states are already miffed with MHA for pushing the National Counter Terrorism Centre project that plans to empower the Centre to take action on its own against terror plots in any state. Home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde has promised to consult chief ministers on NCTC, formulated during the tenure of his predecessor, before going ahead with it. The timing of seeking comments on the said ARC report could lead to more confrontation between MHA and states. 

States have been asked to comment on the recommendation to re-examine certain offences which have interstate or national ramification and include them in a new federal law for probe by a specialised agency. "Offences that may be included in this category are organised crime, terrorism, acts threatening national security, trafficking in arms or human beings, sedition, major crimes with inter-state ramifications, assassination of (including attempts on) major public figures and serious economic offences," the report said. Right now, there is no definition of 'federal crime' in the Indian Penal Code. Since 'public order' and 'police' figure in List II (State List) in the 7th Schedule of Constitution, the ARC recommendations involve constitutional issues having ramifications on Centre-state relations. 

Another contentious ARC recommendation on which the view of states has been sought by MHA is if a law should be enacted to empower the Centre to deploy forces and to even direct it in case of major public order problems that may lead to the breakdown of the constitutional machinery in state. ARC recommended that such deployment should take place only if the state concerned fails to act under the Article 256 of the Constitution and that such deployments should be only for three months, unless an extension is authorised by Parliament. Right now, central forces can be deployed in any state only on the request of the respective state government who directs the forces too. 

States have also been asked for their views on the ARC recommendation to scrap the provision of seeking sanction from the Centre or the state government for prosecuting people accused of inciting riots or communal offences or making hate speeches under Section 153 (A) of Indian Penal Code. ARC also recommended that prosecution in cases related to rioting or communal offences should not be sought to be withdrawn. States will also have to give their views now on the ARC recommendation that commissions of inquiry into any major riots/violence should give their report within a year and government should make public the reason if it does not accept any recommendation of such a commission. 

This ARC report also suggested that confessions made before the police by an accused should be admissible evidence in court, if the confession is video-taped in the presence of the family member or lawyer of the accused, and if the accused is subsequently produced in court. States will also have to consider another ARC recommendation which said that victims of a crime must have a right to object to the bail plea or parole application of an accused person.

The Economic Times, 9 October, 2012, http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/views-of-states-sought-to-treat-terrorism-and-organised-crime-as-federal-crimes/articleshow/16732167.cms


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