Cabinet okays edict to repeal POTA

Law would have lapsed automatically after a month

The Union Cabinet on Friday approved an ordinance repealing the Prevention of Terrorist Activities Act (POTA), almost a month ahead of it lapsing automatically.

The draft of the ordinance, by which POTA would be abolished in keeping with the UPA government's common minimum programme, had been cleared by the law ministry and was presented at the Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

According to sources, the government will be providing a sunset period of one-year during which all the cases pertaining to POTA will be reviewed by various committees and there will be no arrests made after the ordinance is promulgated.

The ordinance is understood to have incorporated certain provisions required to deal with various aspects of global terrorism, in the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, through amendments. The amended law would be defining the word "terrorist" and is likely to extend the penalty up to the capital punishment for anti-national activities.

The amended law would also take care of India's global obligation and all foreign militant outfits like al Qaeda would be banned under it.

On the status of the terrorist organisations banned under POTA after its repeal, Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil said that these organisation would continue to be banned under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

The minister said the amended law would be milder than the POTA and the onus would be shifted back to prosecution to prove the guilt of the accused reversing the provision of the POTA wherein the accused had to prove his innocence. Two Bills would be introduced in the next session of Parliament to replace the two ordinances, he added.

A statement issued by the home ministry said the government was concerned with the manner in which the POTA was "misused" in the past two years.

The BJP, whose NDA was instrumental in bringing POTA into being condemned the move, calling it a retro-action. "The POTA was framed in a way that it was effective in dealing with the nature of terrorist activities," said BJP general secretary Arun Jaitley.

"There are certain provisions in the POTA which are essentially required in every anti-terrorism law," he said.

These include, according to him a comprehensive definition of terrorism, making funding of terrorism as offence, the provision for confiscation of money and assets earned as profits of terrorism.

"More importantly, it provides for the interception of communication between terrorists," said Jaitley.

"In the jehadi terrorism of the day where there are suicide bombers who do not expect to be alive after the attack, the only way to prevent the attacks is through interception," he said.

He added the treating of admissions and confessions of guilt made by persons accused of terrorism as admissible evidence is also critical to trying terror related cases.

Apart from this said Jaitley, there were provisions like stringent provisions for bail, protection of witnesses, and the constitution of special courts to try terrorist offences which made it an effective anti terror Act.

"We need to see that the changing nature of crime requires newer laws," he said.