Following the goof-up in framing charges against suspected Maoist sympathiser Kobad Ghandy under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) by the Delhi police, the Union home ministry has sought a status report from all states on whether they are adhering to procedures listed under the anti-terror law, as amended in 2008, which calls for the setting up of an independent committee to review all cases recommended by the state police for sanction of prosecution to the state government.
The special cell of the Delhi police had to file fresh charges against Ghandy on April 30 after a sessions court had dropped all charges against him under the anti-terror law for want of proper sanction.
To avoid such mistakes in future, the MHA has shot off a letter to chief secretaries and home secretaries of all states and UTs reminding them that the amended UAPA enlists certain procedures before sanction for prosecution under the anti-terror law can be granted.
The letter says that under Section 45(2) of UAPA as amended in 2008, there should be an independent review committee consisting of one retired judge and the secretary of law department in the state, which will be tasked to look into the evidences gathered by the state police during the course of investigation and recommend whether it is a fit case for UAPA.
The MHA has asked states for a status report on whether such a review committee has been formed, who are the members, how many cases have been referred to the committee and how many cases have been recommended by the committee as fit cases under UAPA. The states have also been asked to share how many recommendations of the review committee have been accepted by the state governments till now.