UPA Govt to create a new law to fight terrorism

New Delhi, Dec 14: In the wake of increasing terrorism in India, the UPA government has decided to act tough on terror by bringing in a new law to deal with terrorism. Addressing an international conference of jurists on terrorism and human rights, Law Minister H R Bhardwaj said: "We will enact a law to deal with the situation prevailing in the country. We will have a law, which will specifically deal with terrorist activities. The government will very soon decide what will be the contents of that law."

"However, asked if the new law will be introduced in the current session of Parliament, he said it was pending with the Home Ministry and the cabinet was yet to clear it. He mentioned how countries like the US and the UK have strengthened their terror laws.

Confirming that the introduction of such a law would not in any way infringe Article 21 (Right to Liberty), Bhardwaj said that time had come for a 'really very effective' legislation to combat terrorism in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks. He also said that anti-terror laws such as TADA and POTA had been abolished.

"The law will be there with reasonable restrictions," he added. "We would arm ourselves with laws specifically aimed at terrorist and disruptive elements," he told the conference in the presence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan.

The chief justice, however, sounded a note of caution, saying care must be taken to ensure that new laws do not trample upon the fundamental rights of the citizens. "While the ultimate choice in this regard lies with the legislature, we must be careful not to trample upon Constitutional principles such as 'substantive due process'," Justice Balakrishnan said.

OneIndia News