Karnataka government authority to verify terror cases against minorities

The home minister also assured to withdraw 'unnecessary' cases filed against those from the minority community after discussing the same with the cabinet.

The Karnataka government is mooting an authority to check authenticity of terror-related cases filed against those from the minority community. Karnataka Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara announced the government's plan for the same on Sunday in an event for the minority community. The home minister said that cases filed under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act 1967 will first be referred to the said committee before it reaches the investigation agency.

The home minister also assured to withdraw 'unnecessary' cases filed against those from the minority community after discussing the same with the cabinet. "The need for this authority has risen after investigative agencies have misused the UAPA over the years," he said.

He added that the decision was arrived at following a demand by the state's minority commission. Cases under UAPA filed against those from the minority committee will be reviewed by the authority before it is handed over to the investigative authorities, according to what the home minister said.

The UAPA only allows the Central government to form review committees. The state government only has supervisory powers over a Central act. Legal experts believe that rules are yet to be framed and brought under the statute. Even if the state government went ahead and formed the authority, it will not stand judicial scrutiny.

The opposition lashed out at the Congress government terming the move 'another leg of the prolonged appeasement politics'.

"The home minister should have been careful before making such a statement. How can an authority decide genuinity of a terror case? It will be extra-constitutional. The police probe the case and the HM heads the police, doesn't he trust his own police? This will only give way to a parallel institution," Suresh Kumar, spokesperson of the BJP said.

He added that this is coming from a government that released members Popular Front of India and Karnataka Forum for Dignity accused of rioting and violence at its discretion and this move is only disastrous.

OneIndia News