Press : Narendra Modi writes to Prime Minister on Home Minister’s letter to CMs

Gujarat Information Bureau
Government of Gujarat,
Gandhinagar

January 15, 2014

 

PRESS RELEASE

Narendra Modi writes to Prime Minister on
Home Minister’s letter to CMs

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Gujarat CM opposes centre’s letter to CMs to check grounds of arrest of minority youths arrested for terrorist activities

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Gandhinagar, January 15: In a letter written to Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh, Gujarat Chief Minister Shri Narendra Modi today strongly opposed the letter written by Union Home Minister Shri Sushil Kumar Shinde giving a directive to the chief ministers of states to check the ground on which the youth of minorities were arrested for terrorist activities.

Shri Modi termed this as an shameless act that is aimed at achieving political mileage from the minorities, besides this, it is against the fundamental principles of the Indian Constitution and a serious attempt to tinker with the criminal justice system in the country.  Crime is a crime and it has nothing to do with religious or cast of the criminal.

Shri Shinde’s letter to the CMs is directing them to set up a review or screening committee to check the grounds of arrest for under trial accused of minority community, who were arrested for their terrorist activities. Opposing this strongly, Shri Modi said, “I am requesting you to intervene and pursue the home minister to under that he (Shri Shinde) should not be just focusing on minority and whatever he says is against the constitutional principles and hits at the root of the principle of “right to equality before law”. He must be reminded that he is under an oath of allegiance to the constitution.

Article 14 of the Constitution guarantees the “Right to equality” to all citizens. The suggestion of the Home Minister that the facility of reviewing terror cases would be extended to persons depending on which faith they believe in or are born into is totally unconstitutional. A crime is a crime irrespective of the birth marks of the criminal. His religious beliefs cannot determine his guilt or innocence.

If the Home Minister really believes that there is preponderance of youth belonging to a particular community among the persons wrongfully arrested in terror cases, he must find a solution within the constitutional framework. An acceptable solution would be to fast track all terror cases. This will have the benefit of convicting and punishing the real perpetrators of terrorism while acquitting the innocent people in a timeframe. While this approach will strengthen our fight against terror and take care of genuine cases of wrongful arrests, it will also ensure “Justice to all, Appeasement to none”.

The proposed directive of the Home Minister to set up review committees is not only unconstitutional but also against the provisions of criminal law. Criminal law does not provide for any review committee for withdrawal of pending cases where charge sheets have been filed.

The Home Minister had earlier written- “Strict and prompt action against erring police officers should be taken where there is malafide arrest of any member of minority community; wrongfully arrested person should not only be released immediately but they should also be suitably compensated and rehabilitated to join the mainstream”. I am sure Mr Shinde is aware that police and public order are state subjects with investigation being an integral part thereof.  I believe that in case of a wrongful and malafide arrest every citizen should get the same redressal, regardless of his caste or community, Shri Modi added.

Article 44 of the Constitution states: “The State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a Uniform Civil Code throughout the territory of India”. Since independence, while we have not made much headway in having a common civil code, we have thankfully had a common criminal procedure code. Our criminal justice system has never taken into account the faith or religion of an accused. The suggestion of the Home Minister is unprecedented and marks a new low for our country. The principles at stake are far too valuable to be sacrificed at the altar of political expediency.

The Home Minister speaking publicly that minority youth are being falsely implicated in terror cases without reliable data to back such a statement is highly undesirable. It sends a very wrong message about the country’s criminal justice system and has a demoralizing effect on the entire law enforcement machinery.

Therefore, I urge you to intervene in this matter and take necessary action as deemed appropriate, Shri Modi requested to the Prime Minister.

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