NHRC denounces POTO as 'draconian'

By J. Venkatesan

NEW DELHI, NOV. 19. Even as the Government is keen on arriving at a consensus for the passage of the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance (POTO) in Parliament, the National Human Rights Commission has strongly opposed any such ``draconian'' legislation.

At its meeting today, the full Commission, presided over by its chairperson, Mr. Justice J.S. Verma, reiterated its earlier view that ``the existing laws are sufficient to deal with any eventuality, including terrorism''.

The Commission said: ``Any law for combating terrorism should be consistent with the Constitution, the relevant international instruments and treaties, and respect the principles of necessity and proportionality.''

The NHRC's unanimous decision that there was no need for enactment of a new law on terrorism has come as a shock to the Government which has planned to introduce a Bill in the current session of Parliament to replace the ordinance.

The Commission noted the fact that in even 1995, it had opposed the TADA Act and the then chairperson of the Commission wrote letters to all members of Parliament recommending that the draconian law be not renewed when it expired on May 23, 1995.

The Commission said that ``its present opinion on POTO also remains unchanged''.

It said, ``undoubtedly national security is of paramount importance. Without protecting the safety and security of the nation, individual rights cannot be protected. However, the worth of a nation is the worth of the individuals constituting it. Both national integrity as well as individual dignity are core values in the Constitution and are compatible and not inconsistent. The need is to balance the two.''

The Commission reiterated that the existing laws were sufficient to deal with terrorism, if properly enforced. ``The real need was to strengthen the machinery for implementation and enforcement of the existing laws and further for this purpose, the working of the entire criminal justice system requires to be strengthened.''