The State Government of Gujarat is in the process of tabling before the Gujarat Legislative Assembly in its forthcoming budget session, a new enactment called Gujarat Protection of Internal Security Act (G-PISA). Under the proposed act, police will be empowered to arrest any person merely on the basis of ‘suspicion’, that he can potentially endanger the internal security. This proposed law is a severe assault on civil liberties.
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Under the provisions of G-PISA, arrests made, merely on such ‘suspicion’ shall be considered as cognisable and non-bailable offences. The Proposed act shall deal with terrorism, insurgency, communalism and caste-based violence which imperil internal security.
Moreover, both private and public places shall be covered under surveillance of electronic devices and CCTV cameras. Simultaneously, the act has a provision that the government can arrest any person without any kind of formal complaint – without having to undergo any legal procedure. These are facilitators of an essentially authoritarian state. The state will be over-empowered, with unquestionable rights, to ostensibly nab those who are “alleged security threats” without any kind of warrant.
Bent upon choking any type of dissent, the Gujarat government is expeditiously tying to implement the G-PISA to throttle the voice of any critics and even the political opposition. The intentions of the government are clear: suppress all types of dissenting voices and snatch away the basic human right encompassing freedom of expression.
Following the strong protests by opposition parties and citizens against the harsh provisions of Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organised Crime (GujCTOC), President Pranab Mukherjee had refused to okay it. Moreover, former presidents APJ Abdul Kalam and Pratibha Patil too had returned the GujCTOC for required amendments. These interventions by three Presidents were clear signals to a government bent upon violating the fundamental rights of citizens through the proposed ‘Organised Crime’ bill.
A similar bill – Internal Security Protection Act, 2016 – aimed at dealing with challenges posed by insurgency, communalism and caste-based violence was also tabled in the legislative assembly of Maharashtra. This proposed law, too, had a provision to arm the police with wide, overreaching powers. However, the draft of this act was circulated on public domain for debate/discussion, and in the wake of widespread protest by civil liberties and human rights groups, opposition parties including the Maharashtra government’s own political ally (the Shiv Sena), the proposed bill was withdrawn. The said bill was identical to the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) — one of the harshest laws of the independent India, imposed during the infamous Emergency, between 1975 and 1977. The new act (in Maharashtra) was merely its rechristening or resurrection. The modern day MISA, allowed unbridled detention and arrests of citizens without prosecution attracting the criticism that, it would convert the entire state of Maharashtra into a ‘glorified’ jail. So far, in the wake of widespread public protest, the attempt at enacting such a ‘black’ act did not succeed.
Following its failure in Maharashtra, a process has now been started to enact G-PISA in Gujarat. This is a dangerous move which can result in suppression of civil liberties and freedom. It is obvious that by bringing in such a law, the government is trying to curtail the civil liberties of the people of Gujarat.
Existing laws are quite adequate and effective to ensure the internal security of the nation. Moreover, the already prevalent laws like the ‘Prevention of Damage to Public Property’ and the other criminal laws are enough to maintain law and order situation. There does not appear any need to formulate a new law like G-PISA.
According to news reports, the proposed act contains severely harsh provisions to initiate actions against caste groups and communal forces. All crimes under the purview of the new act shall become non-bailable and people can be arrested merely on the basis of ‘suspicion’.
By installing surveillance system like CCTV cameras at private places including residences, offices etc., the government is legally empowering itself to commit illegal acts of surveillance. The government is further empowered to tap telephonic conversation of any caller. These examples are illustrative from bits and pieces of the drafts that have been made available.
A united campaign to oppose such an intention on government’s part, by concerned citizens and organisations is urgently needed. The Gujarat government’s intention to undemocratically suppress political opposition including the civil movements is really serious. All citizens, experienced and aware of the government’s ill intent need to come together – like in Maharashtra – to nip the draconian move of the Gujarat government in its bud. No act or law which aims at harming fundamental rights of the people can be allowed to exist on statute books. We need to raise public awareness and protest peacefully in multiple ways to ensure that this move is hit back.
(The author is National President of Indian Radical Humanist Association and General Secretary of PUCL Gujarat)
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