State tables Public Security Act in assembly

The bill has provisions for imprisonment up to two years and fine up to ₹2 lakh for being a member of frontal organisations and imprisonment up to seven years and fine up to ₹7 lakh for abetment and involvement in unlawful activities

Mumbai: The draft Maharashtra Special Public Security Act (MSPSA), which aims to curb activities of ‘urban Naxals’ or frontal organisations of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), was tabled in the legislative assembly on Thursday. The bill has provisions for imprisonment up to two years and fine up to ₹2 lakh for being a member of frontal organisations and imprisonment up to seven years and fine up to ₹7 lakh for abetment and involvement in unlawful activities.

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The statement of the bill says it seeks to curb “the spread of active frontal organisations of Naxal groups” which give “constant and effective support in terms of logistics and safe refuge to their armed cadres”. “These organisations through their united front are creating unrest among common masses to propagate their ideology of armed rebellion against the Constitutional mandate and disrupting public order in the state,” the bill states.

The bill was introduced following the union home ministry’s directive to state governments to create a mechanism for countering activities of frontal organisations in urban areas. It is modelled after similar laws in Maoist insurgency-affected states like Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, under whose provisions 48 frontal organisations have been banned.

Like in other states, the bill tabled in the legislature has provisions for banning organisations involved in the unlawful activities such as propagation, acts of violence, vandalism or acts generating fear and apprehension in the public or preaching disobedience to established law or collecting money or goods to carry unlawful activities. It empowers the state to forfeit funds, money and securities of unlawful organisations as well as attach their properties.

As per provisions of the bill, action against frontal organisations can be initiated only after approval from an advisory board comprising three high court judges. Members of frontal organisations are liable for imprisonment up to two years and fine up to ₹2 lakh, while those guilty of abetment and attempts to commit unlawful activity are liable for imprisonment up to seven years and fine up to ₹5 lakh.

Officials from the home department and the state secretariat said a law like the MSPSA was much needed as the Maoist movement had spread from remote districts like Gondia and Gadchiroli to urban areas. “The Unlawful Activities (Prevention)Act has no provision to deal with organizations in urban areas, which indulge in unlawful activities under the garb of cultural and educational programmes, which are funded heavily by other countries,” said a senior Mantralaya official.

The official explained that under the UAPA, district magistrates were required to give permission for prosecuting the accused after going through the evidence and material on record, and the absence of such permission could lead to trials being declared null and void, especially in higher courts. As an example, the official cited the case of former Delhi University professor GN Saibaba, who was acquitted this March after spending 10 years in jail for alleged links with Maoists.

“The Saibaba case is a classic example of how matters under the UAPA are quashed in court. In March this year, the supreme court upheld his acquittal by the Bombay high court two years earlier, saying the trials of Saibaba and five others were null and void owing to the absence of valid sanction to invoke the UAPA. The MSPSA will enable the state sidestep such requirements and plug gaps in the UAPA,” said the official.

The official said that the home department will have to ensure that there is no misuse of the law.