Welcome amendment in anti-terror law -Editorial

While the Union Cabinet’s approval of the proposal to amend the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 and setting up of a National

Investigation Agency (NIA) was deemed necessary in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks, shaping the contours of such amendments and the scope and role of the NIA remains fraught with problems. While the relevant Bills are expected to be soon introduced in Parliament, the NIA seems to be envisaged as an agency that can both take care of the interests of the states as well as have the powers to suo motu take up cases related to terrorist acts. The apparent political consensus on these proposals, while heartening, needs to be strengthened in order to allay the fears of an agency like the NIA being used against state’s interests in the future. The states tend to be suspicious of any law that impinges on their jurisdiction in regard to law and order, which is constitutionally mandated as a state subject.

The NIA must be envisaged as a wholly impartial and unbiased organisation that not only preserves the state’s jurisdiction over law and order issues but also functions without recourse to community profiling. The issue of framing tougher anti-terror laws is also of critical interest for our society. While measures like ensuring speedy trials through special courts could prove effective, it has been conclusively proved in the past that harsh laws like POTA have been misused brazenly. The need of the hour is enabling the proposed federal agency with suitable powers as well as ensuring that principles of federalism, justice and fundamental rights are maintained.

A federal agency operating on such lines would, indeed, be an effective counter-terror measure. But there is a marked difference between mere containment of terrorism and actually preventing it. While the latter entails measures like greater coordination between various intelligence outfits, there should also be a greater stress on issues like ensuring better community policing. There is, in the final analysis, no substitute for efficient local policing. To that end, carrying out the much-needed police reforms must be given priority as a critical aspect of the fight against terrorism.