The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Ruling today on Government plea against POTA panel order

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Sep 14, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Ruling today on Government plea against POTA panel order

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI, SEPT. 13. The Madras High Court will pass interim orders tomorrow on a writ petition filed by the Tamil Nadu Government challenging the order of the Central Review Committee on the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) directing it to furnish copies of documents and statements to R.R. Gopal, Editor, Nakkheeran.

Justice M. Chockalingam today reserved orders, on the petition filed by the Home Secretary, Sheela Rani Chunkath, stating the accused was not entitled to the documents at this stage and that the committee had no jurisdiction to give such a direction.

On September 11, the committee asked the Government to give ``a set of documents, statements, etc., on which it proposes to rely for prosecution of Mr. Gopal.'' It, however, permitted the Government to protect the identity of the witnesses by suitably substituting their names and addresses with dummy names.

Challenging the rejection of the State Government's opposition, the Home Secretary said the committee's direction was ``against the well-established principles of criminal law and the Government had been directed to perform an act which is not contemplated under the Code of Criminal Procedure.''

`Trial will be prejudiced'

According to her, furnishing copies of all documents to Mr. Gopal at this juncture would ``greatly prejudice the trial and further proceedings in the case.'' Citing a Supreme Court order of stay on filing the charge sheet, she said the copies would form part of the report of the police officer on completion of investigation, before being forwarded to the magistrate empowered to take cognisance.

``The power exercised by the committee is neither judicial nor quasi-judicial but only administrative. It is obligatory on the part of any administrative authority to assign and communicate reasons for their conclusion,'' she said. The committee's failure to come out with reasons for such a decision was a ``serious incurable legal infirmity.''

Reiterating that the investigation into the offence should necessarily be kept confidential, the Home Secretary said copies of documents could be furnished to Mr. Gopal only after the final report was filed.

She then prayed for an interim injunction on the operation of the impugned order, and wanted the court to call for all records from the committee and quash its September 11 order.

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