NEW DELHI: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has urged the government to repeal the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (prevention) act and reiterated its resolve to challenge it in the Supreme Court,

According 0 NHRC sources, a petition seeking a fresh review of the apex court’s caricrdec! on the act was already under preparation. The NHRC was also consulting eminent lawyer Fall S. Nariman to make the final argument,

Earlicr, TADA cases were viewed by the Commission to a meeting will senior home ministry officials and chief secretaries and home scerclarics of eight states and & Union Territory which had not submitted data on detentions made under the controversial act.

He said that the state officials Present submitted details of the pending TADA cases.

The meeting specially omphas sized the low conviction mic of TADA detainees, Mishnais said (6 have pulled up various sites about the conviction rate: Various states put forward theories of why TADA had been Involved, The Gujarat official said that jihad been implemented because of communal violence, Bombiy blasts and the fact that the state had aborder with Pakistan. Assam is said to have told the Commission that the problems created by ULFA, Bodos and other groups Left them with no option but to implement the official from Andhra Pradesh pointed out the Naxalites menace in parts of the state citing it as the reason for implementing TADA,

The Jammu and Kashmir chief secretary has asked for some more time and will make available details to Commission Mishra, interestingly, has said he would like to verify the government report from Orissa. Besides Gujarat, which has the dubious distinction of booking the maximum number of TADA cases, the states which were called for the deliberations included Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Andhm Pradesh, Assam, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.

Justice Mishra said all the necessary information’s about detention made under the act in various states were collected by the Commission.

 

Article extracted from this publication >>  September 2, 1994