New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu has given her assent to the Bill passed by the Gujarat Assembly that empowers the police to register cases against persons who stage protests in violation of Section 144 (prohibiting unlawful assembly) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), reports PTI.
Passed by the Gujarat legislative assembly early last year, in March 2022, ‘The Code of Criminal Procedure (Gujarat Amendment) Bill, 2021’ makes any violation of prohibitory orders under Section 144 a cognisable offence under Section 188 (disobedience to an order duly promulgated by a public servant) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). This Bill harks back to an u democratic colonial era, concentrating unchecked power in the police.
The said law, in effect, amends Section 195 of the CrPC, which states that no court shall take cognisance of any criminal conspiracy for contempt of the lawful authority of public servants except on the complaint in writing of the public servant concerned.
Now, with this new regressive legal regime in place, the police in Gujarat can register cases against those who protest without informing local courts in writing, which has been the case thus far.
Thestatement and objects of the Bill lays this out: it states that the Gujarat government, police commissioners, district magistrates are vested with powers to issue prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC, directing any person to abstain from a certain act or to take a certain order to prevent disturbance of public tranquillity or a riot or an affray to maintain public order on various occasions.
Further, thelaw acknowledges that police officers deployed on such duties encounter instances of violence requiring them to take appropriate legal action against the violators under Section 188 of the IPC.
“However, Section 195 of the CrPC, 1973 makes it mandatory for the public servant issuing such orders to be the complainant against the violators thereby creating an impediment for taking cognizance of violations…. Section 195 (1) (a) (ii) CrPC prohibits the jurisdictional courts from taking cognizance of the offences except on the complaint in writing of the public servant concerned,” the statement said, according to The Hindu.
Now, under this new regime that openly criminalises protests, any violation of prohibitory orders issued under Section 144 will be a cognisable offence under Section 188 (disobedience to an order duly promulgated by a public servant) of the IPC. The maximum punishment under Section 188 is six months in jail.
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