Between the NIA Amendment and Now UAPA, the Squeeze on Human Rights is On – By Sarim Naved
…While the debate in parliament regarding the NIA focused a lot on terrorism and the harm it caused to society, no data or information was produced to show that the individual state police forces and the Central Bureau of Investigation had failed to prosecute terrorist offences. At the same time, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act was also amended to make the standard for bail in such cases more strict.
Almost 11 years later, both laws are sought to be amended again. … The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act has also been sought to be amended. Until now, this Act allowed the government to proscribe terrorist organisations, but now allows the government to proscribe individuals as terrorists. Until now, a person could be convicted of a ‘terrorist act’, i.e. be declared a terrorist only after the due process of law.…
The addition of offences to the NIA’s repertoire is likely to cause much controversy, considering the breadth of the liberty given to the Central government to transfer cases to the NIA. The NIA will now no longer investigate issues concerning national security but offences related to firearms, explosives and counterfeit currency as well. No case has been made as to why this was necessary and whether the NIA can even take up such a large number of cases.…
https://thewire.in/government/the-centre-wants-to-give-the-nia-more-powers-but-it-wont-explain-why
SEE ALSO:
- NIA Amendment Raises Concerns Of Misuse Of Anti-Terror Laws – By Divyank Yadav (Jul 21, 2019, Live Law)
https://www.livelaw.in/columns/niaamendment-anti-terror-laws-146552 - NIA amendment bill infringes upon state authority, must be reconsidered – By Kunal Ambasta (Jul 26, 2019, Indian Express)
https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/nia-amendment-bill-amit-shah-bjp-5852372/ - The terrorist tag: on the latest amendments to the NIA Act – Editorial (Jul 26, 2019, The Hindu)
https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/the-terrorist-tag/article28712821.ece - It takes two – Editorial (Jul 26, 2019, Indian Express)
https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/editorials/parliament-lok-sabha-rajya-sabha-bjp-opposition-5852400/
