Criminal Procedure Bill Is Anti-People And Anti-Federal, Says DMK’s MP Dayanidhi Maran
(Judicial Quest News Network)
The Lok Sabha on Monday passed the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022, by voice vote.
Many MPs from the opposition benches had opposed the fashion in which the bill was introduced and demanded that send the Bill to the standing Committee for further scrutiny.
The Bill seeks to repeal the Identification of Pensioners Act,1920 and allow the collection, storage and analysis of Physical and biological samples, including retina iris scan of the convicted, arrested and detained persons.
Participating in the Debate, Mr. Maran, expressed his apprehension that the provisions of the Bill could be used to target minorities and wondered if the Government wanted to create a surveillance State.
He said that the Narendra Modi Government is seem to be cherry-picking laws and amending them whichever laws they want to change and, that too, if they feel that they can terrorise the country. Let me tell you the reason behind my saying ‘terrorise the country’.
Mr. Maran also questioned the need to store data for 75 years and that too, in the absence of a Data Protection Bill.
Debating in a strong tone and tenure Mr. Maran said “Your Government is known to target the minorities. Any law you bring, the first abuse is done to the minorities. We feel that this too will be used by your Government for the same. When you are bringing this law, I would like to ask the Home Minister, what about Lalit Modi, what about Nirav Modi, what about Mehul Choksi, what about and Vijay Mallya. They all went under your nose through your airports which are guarded by you.”
Referring to a recent incident of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s house being vandalised, allegedly by BJP workers in the presence of Lok Sabha member Tejasvi Surya Mr. Maran asked why the Delhi Police could not identify the people involved when their photographs were in public domain.
He questioned why Mr. Shah, while moving the Bill, did not talk about improving the efficiency of the Police Department and say that we will be able to identify the criminal within 24, 48 or 56 hours of the crime. It is not there.
Mr. Maran has also said that basically, this Bill is against the Fundamental Right to Privacy of a citizen which has been guaranteed by the hon. Supreme Court in the Justice Puttaswamy case.
The Union Government is always doing it. “I sometimes wonder whether the Home Minister and the Prime Minister have forgotten where they have come from. You are all coming from Gujarat. You were the Home Minister of the State of Gujarat and our Prime Minister was the Chief Minister of Gujarat. At that time, you were against the Union Government taking over the rights of the State Governments. The moment you come and sit in the Centre, you want all the powers to yourself. Let me tell you, Sir, that there is always a saying ‘you cannot be a king throughout your life-time’. The political cycles keep changing. What happened to the Congress will now also happen to you, but do not feel that you will always be in power, taking all the powers from the States. We feel that you are getting into the rights of the States.”
Mr. Maran also referred to the Prisons Stastics of India Report of 2020 and said that The total capacity of our prisons is 4, 14,033. The present occupancy is 4, 88,511. So, there is 20 per cent over-capacity as far as occupancy is concerned. Out of this, the convicted people are only 1, 12,589 and the people who are under-trials are 3, 71,848. Literally, 70 per cent of the people, who are in the prisons, are under-trials. Basically, they have not got an opportunity to go and argue for themselves and, preferably, the punishment for the offences committed by them would have been petty, but they are still over-staying in the jail and our Home Minister is not worried about them and to get them out by bringing a new law because they are all antique laws. This will save the money for the Government and also bring up an order in the prison system.
