Kerala Govt. to modify 'Goonda Ordinance'

Kochi, Jul 2 (UNI) The Kerala Government will modify the lapsed 'Goonda Ordinance' of the previous UDF Government to make it more ''humane'', state Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Vijay Kumar said today.

Addressing a press conference here, the minister said the LDF government's decision not to re-promulgate the 'Goonda Ordinance' had been widely welcomed by many including famous jurist V R Krishna Iyer.

Stating that the ordinance was full of loopholes, which were liable to be misused, the minister said the government would modify it to make it more ''modern and humane''.

With the State Assembly celebrating its golden jubilee this year, the Government is considering the setting up a Law Commission to review the state's laws.

Stating that the body will be ''proactive and pro-people'', Mr Kumar said the laws which were no longer necessary in the statute book would be repealed and those needing modification would be amended. The commission would also look into the need for any new legislations.

Observing that the government often lost the court cases that it was involved in, he said a monitoring mechanism would be put in place to review the working of the offices of the Advocate General and the law department.

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