- Rajya Sabha on August 2, 2019 passed the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill, 2019 that seeks to amend the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. Lok Sabha had passed the bill on July 24. Rajya Sabha approved it after rejecting an Opposition-sponsored motion to send it to select committee.
- Individuals as terrorists: The bill empowers the government to designate individuals as terrorists. As per the government, declaring an organization as a terrorist organization will not stop the individuals behind it. Not designating individuals as terrorists, would give them an opportunity to circumvent the law and they would simply gather under a different name and keep up their terror activities.
- The Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah said that only those individuals who participate in terrorist activities, aid those indulging in such activities, propagate the ideology of terrorism and members of known terrorist organizations will be declared as terrorists after this amendment is passed. He added that terrorism is a global problem and the UN along with several other countries, have provisions in their laws to designate individuals as terrorists.
- Powers to DG, NIA to attach properties: The Amendment gives powers to DG, NIA to attach properties acquired from proceeds of terrorism. On this issue, Shri Shah said that this law does not take away powers of the state police. When NIA takes up a case having international and inter-state ramifications, all the facts pertinent to the case are with the NIA, and not with the state police. Currently, the law requires that NIA take prior permission from the respective state DGP to attach the proceeds of terrorism. This delays the process as often such properties are in different states, the Minister added.
- Inspectors to investigate the case: Earlier, officers of ranks DSP and above were empowered to investigate cases under UAPA as per Section 43. The Amendment seeks to empower officers with the rank of inspectors and above to do the same. As per the Union Home Minister, this would help solve the human resource crunch in the NIA. The inspector rank officers have, over time, acquired sufficient proficiency to investigate UAPA related cases.
