India News | Guj Govt Approves Ordinance for Widening Scope of PASA Act
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. The Gujarat cabinet on Wednesday gave its nod for issuance of an ordinance to amend the Prevention of Anti-Social Activities (PASA) Act, which provides for preventive detention of habitual offenders.
Ahmedabad, Sep 2 (PTI) The Gujarat cabinet on Wednesday gave its nod for issuance of an ordinance to amend the Prevention of Anti-Social Activities (PASA) Act, which provides for preventive detention of habitual offenders.
The approval was given during a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, said Minister of State for Home Pradeepsinh Jadeja.
The ordinance will be issued soon to carry out the amendment as the state Assembly is not in session, he said.
The amendment would extend the application of the PASA Act to cyber criminals, loan sharks, gambling den owners and sexual offenders.
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In its current form, the act can be invoked against those involved in offences under the Indian Penal Code, Arms Act, drug offences, bootlegging, gambling, prostitution and cow slaughter.
Under the PASA Act, habitual offenders can be held in preventive detention on the orders of district magistrate for upto one year.
After detaining a person, the authorities have to inform the PASA Advisory Board within three weeks, and the board, headed by a retired high court judge, has to inform the government if the detention is valid or not.
If the board opines that there are no sufficient grounds, the detention order is revoked.
With the amendment, a person committing crimes under the Information Technology Act could also be detained under the PASA Act.
It would also cover those involved in cyber frauds as well as those found guilty of spreading communal hatred using the cyber space, Jadeja said.
The amendment would also extend the application of the act to those involved in sexual harassment offenses under the IPC as well as the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, and those involved in harassing borrowers or taking away of a borrower's property illegally.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)