People's Democracy

        ‘POTA Should Go – Lock Stock And Barrel’

“I today regret that I supported POTA and I reposed faith in the sincerity and honesty of the politicians who told us that it is not to be misused. I have no doubt at all that it has been misused, and I have no doubt at all that we don’t need it, and I have no doubt as y other friends said hat it must go lock, stock and barrel”.

This was former union law minister, Ram Jethmalani, speaking at the People’s Tribunal on POTA and Other Security Legislation at the Press Club in New Delhi on July 16,2004.

Amidst reports that some dithering had begun on POTA repeal, a panel of eminent people, including Jethmalani, demanded that POTA should go lock stock and barrel as it had been misused to suppress people’s movements. They were speaking at the release of the Peoples Tribunal report that documents the gross misuse of POTA and other security legislations. “It has been used against minorities, children, the elderly, political opponents and human rights defenders,” said Jethmalani

The panel comprised former National Commission for Women (NCW) chairperson Mohini Giri, former NCW member Sayeda Hameed, journalist Praful Bidwai, retired judges D K Basu and H Suresh, People’s Union for Civil Liberties President K G Kannbiran, and writer Arundhati Roy.

GUJARAT

The report highlighted how POTA has been widely misused against Muslims in Gujarat. “POTA charges have not been levelled against any person involved in the far more serious and destructive post-Godhra carnage. This is a clear case of discrimination on grounds of religion,” the Tribunal observed.

“Our review of victim and expert testimony shows that the misuse of the Act is inseparable from its normal use. It is a statute meant to terrorise not so much the terrorists as ordinary civilians – and, particularly, the poor and disadvantaged such as dalits, religious minorities, and working people. We have no hesitation, therefore, in recommending that POTA be repealed and that, too, in such a manner that the POTA charges are deleted from all existing investigations and trials,” the former law minister said.

The report also regretted that the insurgency problem in the North East, Jammu & Kashmir, and other states was being treated as a law and order problem. “Fifty-five years of use of this method has not provided a solution to the militant situation. It is time we realised that these are issues to be resolved politically,” the Tribunal said and urged the government to initiate peace process with all the militant groups.

The panellists said experiences with Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) and similar legislations show that such “security” legislations grant sweeping powers to authorities, which has led to misuse of these powers and severe restriction of basic rights. “At the same time, such a legislation does not address the political, social and economic roots of the problem,” the Tribunal said.

The 629-page report is based on depositions made before the Tribunal by victims and their families from states like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Delhi, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Manipur, as well as expert depositions by lawyers and activists.

“They spoke of the victimisation of juveniles, minorities, dalits, adivasis and industrial workers and recounted stories of illegal custody, solitary confinement, torture, forced confession, sexual and religious humiliation, encounter killings and disappearances,” informed Jethmalani.

The report was based on the depositions at the People’s Tribunal on POTA and Other Security Legislation (Tribunal) which was conducted on March 13-14, 2004, in Delhi. The tribunal documented cases of such abuse. Over 200 people  – either victims or from their families – attended this public hearing and gave witness testimonies.

A LITANY OF TORTURE

The history of special security legislation such as POTA is a litany of torture and gross misconduct by police and paramilitary security forces, all done with complete impunity. The significance of this Tribunal was that it brought together victims of security legislation from ten states in India, which provided a national framework to contextualise security legislation and its selective use against the weakest sections of society; the poor, the minorities, juveniles, the otherwise marginalised.

The deliberate communal bias in the application of security legislation is evidenced by the fact that Muslims form an overwhelming majority of POTA detainees. Gujarat provides a particularly shocking example of this communal bais – over 99 per cent of the POTA detainees are Muslims. Bharat Jhala, an activist who interviewed several families in Gujarat, described the fear that members of the minority community felt: “The Muslims in Gujarat are so scared, that even though only 307 persons may be in jail, all those who are outside live almost as though they have been arrested under POTA – the Muslim community of Gujarat is living under POTA whether they are in jail or outside it.”

The tribunal concluded that the review of victim and expert testimony showed that the misuse of the act is inseparable from its normal use. “It is a statute meant to terrorise not so much the terrorists as ordinary civilians—and particularly the poor and disadvantaged such as dalits, religious minorities, adivasis, and working people. We have no hesitation, therefore, in recommending that POTA be repealed and that too in such a manner that the POTA charges are deleted from all existing investigations and trials. These may continue, if the state so desires, under other laws and charges. While repealing POTA special care must be taken to ensure that, in the amending act, a specific provision is made to bar the use of confessions taken under POTA for any trial that is to be continued under the normal law of the land.” (INN)