Virtually rejecting states’ demand for clipping the wings of the National Counter-Terrorism Centre (NCTC), the Centre has decided to retain its power to “arrest and search or seizure.” The standard operating procedures (SOP) circulated by the Union home ministry to states ahead of the May 5 NCTC meet, clearly says that “the operations division of the NCTC may invoke powers of arrest and search or seizure... in circumstances where immediate action is required on an intelligence input’’.
The move is bound to upset the chief ministers of the non-Congress states, including the powerful UPA ally, Trinamul Congress, who have been demanding withdrawal of the powers of arrest and search given to National Counter-Terrorism Centre, terming it an impingement on the federal rights of states.
The May 5 NCTC meet, to be chaired by the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, is now all set to be a stormy one.
The SOPs accessed by this newspaper state that the director, NCTC will have the power to “authorise’’ cases where arrests may be made by NCTC officials. However, in a bid to maintain a balance the SOPs state that during the arrests, search and seizure, the “director, NCTC, shall, as far as possible, endeavour to keep the DGP or the head of ATS of the state concerned informed of the operation in advance’’.
But then the SOP also added a caveat saying: “Where it is not possible to give advance intimation, the DG/head of the ATS shall be informed immediately after the operation.”
In what is being as the government’s attempt not to undermine the federal polity, the SOP added “the NCTC team shall, hand over as soon as possible, the arrested persons or seized material to the nearest police station with a written statement giving the details of the case’’.
The statement given by NCTC officials can be used as the basis for registering the FIR.
It also added that where “immediate action” was not required, the ATS and state police units can make arrests or conduct searches. “This is unlikely to placate the chief ministers, opposing the move,” a top government official pointed out.
After every operation, the National Counter-Terrorism Centre operations division teams will submit a report to the director, NCTC.
The reports will then be forwarded to the Union home secretary, director of Intelligence Bureau and DGPs or head of ATS of the state concerned. Such reports and relevant documents shall also be filed with the legal cell of the ops division.
Home minister P. Chidambaram on Monday felt that the SOPs, would “dissolve the doubts being raised by the chief ministers.” For the home minister, the government was willing to “listen and try incorporate suggestions by the chief ministers” during the forthcoming NCTC meet.