Proposed anti-terror act

A law like this has far-reaching implications, both for the government and the public at large. Nearly three decades ago the Special Powers Act was introduced and we all are aware of its consequences. Then followed the infamous Public Safety Act which thankfully was not renewed after the expiry of its original two-year validity, but it had a controversial run anyway. And now an anti terror law is in prospect, whose justifiability has not been fully gone into, far less its contents debated in the public domain.

It is, therefore, imperative that prior to the approval of the draft law it be made available for public discourse in various fora. Apart from a parliamentary committee going into it, there was a need for circulating the draft bill for eliciting public opinion. After all, it is directly linked to public interest and concern, to say nothing of its possible bearing on the judicial system.

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One aspect of the scrutiny should be to find out any ambiguous provision having a potential of being used or abused to meet partisan political interest. There are yet two other aspects we would urge the government to most carefully note while finalising the proposed act: any provision that may lead to violation of basic human rights or define what constitutes sedition.

We must simply do a comprehensive and well-thought-out job and formulate a terror act that is fully designed to ensure security and safety of the people.