- India's Legal System --
Anti-Terrorism Laws,
National Remedies
India's Legal System
Under Article 356 of India's constitution the federally appointed governor can recommend the dismissal of a state's elected legislature and the imposition of direct rule from the center when "governance of the state cannot be carried out in accordance with the constitution." In both states the central government suspended the elected state government and imposed President's rule.
Anti-Terrorism Laws
The Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act: (TADA) weakens safeguards against torture and mistreatment of detainees by allowing high officials to use confessions they consider voluntary. Authorities in all but three of India's states used TADA to arrest over 65,000 individuals, but fewer than 100 were convicted.
6 Under The Armed Forces (Punjab and Chandigarh) Special Powers Act army and paramilitary personnel may shoot to kill.
Emergency legislation adopted by India's Parliament grants immunity to security officers empowered to detain and kill suspected terrorists. The Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act (PSA), authorizes up to two years of preventive detention for acts prejudicial to state security or public order, promoting feelings of enmity, hatred or disharmony on grounds of religion or region. Authorities may withhold information based on their assessment of the public interest.
The Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act, empowers army and paramilitary forces in disturbed areas
"If . . . it is necessary so to do for the maintenance of public order . .[to] . fire upon or otherwise use force, even to the causing of death against any person who is acting in contravention of any law or order for the time being in force in the disturbed area prohibiting the assembly of five or more persons or the carrying of weapons or of things capable of being used as weapons or of fire arms, ammunition or explosive substances.7
Unless previous permission has been obtained from central government: "no prosecution, suit or other legal proceeding shall be instituted . . . against any person in respect of anything done or purported to be done in exercise of the powers conferred by this Act."
A Jammu and Kashmir High Court judge complained:
The Police agencies and the administration appear to have thrown to winds the rule of law. All sorts of illegalities are being committed by them . . . Hundreds of cases have been brought to my notice where the detenues are in illegal detention. Despite the strong directions of this court they are not be[ing] released . . . Scores of cases are pending wherein the detenues have been allegedly done-away with after arrest. . . . In short, there is total break down of law and order machinery.8
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