NIA: Chidambaram letter leaves questions unanswered

Union Home Minister P Chidambarams detailed note to all chief ministers explaining the scope and application of three important legislations enacted...

Union Home Minister P Chidambarams detailed note to all chief ministers explaining the scope and application of three important legislations enacted by the Centre in the wake of Mumbai terror attacks has left some key objections raised by the states unaddressed.

In his letter sent to the chief ministers on January 13,Chidambaram had included three annexures,one each for explaining the NIA Bill,the UAPA amendment Bill and the CrPC amendment Bill,all of which were passed by Parliament last month. The letter was sent as a follow-up to discussions held during a chief ministers conference earlier this month,during which quite a few states had voiced their apprehensions on these legislations,particularly regarding the establishment of the National Investigation Agency.

The states were of the view that the NIA,which has been mandated to investigate crimes committed under eight scheduled offences,was likely to infringe on the federal structure of the Constitution since law and order was a state subject.

Allaying these fears,Chidambaram has pointed out in his letter that all scheduled offences were essentially terrorism related. Explaining the NIA functioning,he said the FIR would be registered at the local police station,just as for any other crime,and a report about the same would be sent to the state Government which will forward it to the Central Government.

Chidambaram said the Central Government would decide,within a period of 15 days,whether the case needed to be investigated by the NIA.

What he has not made clear in the letter,and something that some of the chief ministers had raised during the conference as well,that whether this decision to hand over the investigation to the NIA would be taken in consultation with the state Government or it would be discretion of the Central Government.

Chidambaram has also admitted in the letter that in exceptional cases,the Central Government may suo motu direct the NIA to take up the investigation of the case a possibility that,states fear,was likely to be misused.

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The Home Minister has also clarified that once a case is entrusted to the NIA,it would take over the investigations from the state police. Whether to associate the state police in the investigations would be a discretion for the NIA to exercise.

Explaining the amendments made in the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act,Chidambaram said the new law included a universally accepted definition of terrorism and extended the scope of the offence to include organisation of terrorist camps and recruiting persons for committing a terrorist act. It also makes bail provisions more stringent than before and gives a designated authority the power to make preventive arrests,to search any premises or seize article.

However,controversial provisions such as admissibility of confession before a police officer and absolute denial of bail to an accused have been kept out, he said.