Detention distress!
The law, passed on the eve of Independence Day, has come with a bad taste. Critics in the civil society, lawfare and political circles question its utility when a plethora of similar litigations are there to deal with terror suspects. Especially, as the armed forces have been included in the orbit, it has come with a more lethal touch. It is, however, not known whether the detainees will be produced before the magistrate within 24 hours as per Penal Code, or they will continue to languish in shadows at the mercy of authorities for 180 days. While the bill says that the detention shall be on the basis of "credible information or reasonable suspicion", one hopes better sense will prevail and there won't be tales of midnight knocks and arbitrary disappearances.
A clause in the amendment, sub-section 2 Section 11EEEE (preventive detention for inquiry), is quite vexing as any "suspicious person" could be held for three months. This needs some detailing and must ensure that fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution are not thrown to the wind. The fact that JITs comprising members of law-enforcement and intelligence agencies will conduct inquiries must come with public trial, so that the merits of detention and prosecution are assured as per law.
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