The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Bill to hold statue desecrators under Goondas Act introduced

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Wednesday, May 14, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Bill to hold statue desecrators under Goondas Act introduced

Special Correspondent

CHENNAI: Minister for Law and PWD, Durai Murugan, on Tuesday introduced in the Assembly a Bill to amend the Goondas Act to cover those desecrating statues.

Tamil Nadu Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Bootleggers, Drug-offenders, Forest-offenders, Goondas, Immoral Traffic-offenders, Sand-offenders, Slum-grabbers and Video Pirates Act, 1982 provides for imprisonment without bail for a year.

Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi had announced in the Assembly on Monday that a Bill to include those who indulge in statue desecration under the provisions of the Act would be introduced in the current Assembly session. The session is scheduled to end on Wednesday.

The statement of objects and reasons of the Bill said that statues of deities and leaders were being damaged, disfigured or defiled, with an intention of provoking others to retaliate.

“Certain persons [by defiling statues] are provoking other persons to cause riot, or promoting enmity between different groups on the ground of religion, race, caste, etc., every now and then, thereby adversely affecting public order. In order to ensure that the public order is not adversely affected by the activities of such persons, it has been considered necessary to provide for the preventive detention of such persons by bringing those persons within the definition of the term Goondas in the Act.”

Another Bill

He also introduced a Bill to amend Tamil Nadu Protection of Interests of Depositors (in Financial Establishments) Act, 1997, to reduce the time taken to make an attachment of property absolute so that it could be sold and depositors given back their money at an early date.

The statement of objects and reasons of the Bill said: “The Act provides that the Competent Authority shall make an application to the Special Court for making the ad-interim order of attachment absolute. After making the ad-interim order of attachment absolute, the Competent Authority has to make an application to the Special Court for sale of the property so attached by public auction and realise the sale proceeds.

“In order to settle the dues to the aggrieved depositors expeditiously, the government has decided to amend the said Act suitably so as to enable the Competent Authority to file an application to the Special Court for making the ad-interim order of the attachment absolute and for sale of property attached simultaneously.”

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