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Transparency International India (TII) has appealed to the Maharashtra government for an immediate rollback to amend the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). The proposal makes it mandatory to seek prior permission of the state Assembly speaker in case of an elected representative and of the chief secretary in case of bureaucrats, for filing a first information report (FIR). The same rule applies to the representatives of city councils and panchayats.
In its communication to Fadnavis, TII has opposed the state government’s move to amend the provisions 156(3) and 190 of the CrPC in this regard saying, it will deprive law-abiding citizens from seeking justice against criminals.
According to the TII Chairman P S Bawa, the proposed amendments are arbitrary, unjustified, illegal, and designed to favour a particular section of society thus bringing about discrimination among citizens and hence a violation of the rule of equality.
Moreover, TII observed, power and duty to register a cognisable case is non-negotiable. Hence, there is no justification, whatsoever, for shielding the elected representatives and bureaucrats for their acts of commission and omission.
