"The Insaf Morcha has studied the Law Commission's final recommendations on the proposed Prevention of Terrorism Bill, 2000.

The Law .Commission has no doubt retouched the original draft and introduced some safeguards in the light of its interaction with human right groups. But it has made no substantive changes and the proposed Bill retains its draconian character.

On the question of presumption of guilt by the trial court, which goes against the basic principle of justice, the Bill makes it mandatory for the Court to 'draw the adverse inference against the accused'.

Possession of arms in a notified area continues to be, by itself, an offence punishable under the Act.

The 'duty' clause obliging citizens to furnish information in their possession to the investigating officer who believes they have it, is unprecedented and liable to misuse. The safeguard requiring confirmation of confession, made before a senior police officer, before a magistrate is liable to misuse when the state itself engages in a witch-hunt.

The 'shelter' clause which makes the members of the family of the accused liable even if they have no knowledge of his criminal activities is absolutely unfair.

The important question is why the Government, which has a whole armoury of penal laws at its disposal, wishes to have another TADA when it knows that it was largely misused and against innocent persons mostly belonging to the minorities and the weaker sections and that the conviction rate under it was 1-2%. The essential motivation is perhaps to keep difficuit and not easily manageable persons, not necessarily criminal, behind the bars as long as possible This is a step towards dictatorship, tinged with religious, racial and caste bias.

Hence the Insaf Morcha requests the Government that preventive detention, in principle, should only be applied if at all, in extreme situations against known history sheeters, who, it is apprehended, may get involved and  make restoration of normalcy more difficult, no against the common citizens. For this purpose, the Government may evolve a new bill in consultation with other political parties.