Days before the Gujarat Assembly elections were announced, the State government renewed its bid to revive the controversial Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organised Crime (GCTOC) Bill, 2015, which authorises police officers to tap phones and submit the conversations as evidence in court. The Bill includes provisions to file a charge sheet within 180 days instead of the usual 90 and proposes stricter conditions for granting bail.
Inter-ministerial review
The Union Home Ministry has sent the Bill for inter-ministerial consultations, the fifth time since it was first conceived in 2003 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat.
Former President Pranab Mukherjee had refused to clear the Bill, following which the Home Ministry recalled it in January 2016. The Ministry asked the State government for clarifications, and Gujarat had sent a fresh proposal this September.
The earlier GUJCOC Bill was reintroduced as GCTOC Bill in 2015. The same year the Information and Technology Ministry objected to the provisions that allowed “authorisation of interception of telephonic conversations and their admissibility as evidence in the court of law”. As per norms, agencies such as the Research & Analysis Wing (RAW), the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, the Enforcement Directorate and the police can tap phones only with the permission of the Union Home Secretary.
“Some minor changes were suggested by the Home Ministry and they have been complied with,” a senior Gujarat government official told The Hindu .
Once the consultations are done, it will be sent to President Ram Nath Kovind for his assent.
The Bill in its earlier form was rejected thrice by two former Presidents — the late A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in 2004 and by Pratibha Patil in 2008 and 2009.
One of the provisions to which objections were raised by the Centre was Section 25, which provided immunity to the State from any legal action for “anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done in pursuance of this Act.”
While reintroducing the Bill in 2015, Gujarat Home Minister Rajnikant Patel said the legislation was required for the safety and security of the residents of Gujarat, as it shared a border with Pakistan.
