The Hindu : POTA Amendment Bill passed

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Dec 19, 2003

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POTA Amendment Bill passed

By Our Special Correspondent

New Delhi Dec. 18. The Rajya Sabha today passed the Prevention of Terrorism (Amendment) Bill, 2003, to amend the Prevention Of Terrorism Act, 2002, (POTA) after the entire Opposition led by the Congress walked out and the AIADMK insisted on a vote to register their protest against the amendment. The Bill was carried through with 79 `ayes' against eight AIADMK `nays.' The Lok Sabha cleared the Bill on Wednesday.

A resolution moved by the Congress disapproving the Prevention of Terrorism (Amendment) Ordinance promulgated by the President on October 27 was defeated.

The Bill, which seeks to provide safeguards against the misuse of POTA by making the decision of the Central Review Committee binding on the Centre and States, was put to vote after the Government rejected the Congress demand for a review of the Supreme Court verdict upholding the Act's Constitutional validity. Opposition parties said the fact that the Government was moving an amendment showed that the Act was being misused.

A near unanimous demand from the Opposition to scrap "POTA in toto" also did not find favour with the Government. However, a suggestion that some crimes be considered "federal crimes" caught the Government's attention.

Opposing the Bill, the AIADMK deputy leader, V. Maitreyan, said the Bill made a mockery of the original POTA itself. It confers statutory powers on the Central and State Review Committees to intervene with the functioning of the Special Courts set up by the State Governments under the Act and call for records of ongoing trials. "This will lead to a situation when the judicial process itself is questioned by the executive," he said.

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