The Public Safety Act  (PSA )  may have withstood the test of the constitutionality. It may not be a lawless law, as some over enthusiastic activists would  like us to believe.
Living as we are in the  mine fields of hate and terror spread around and people with triggers in their hands ready to pull  them, any time anywhere, one can’t wish away this law. Its desirability, though not welcome, can’t be questioned at this stage. But  then the hard fact remains.The  PSA has some measures in it  which, in the present scenario   of activism  for the respect of human rights and transparency, look a bit incongruous. The law surely needs  a human face and  a human heart.  In this regard, it is gratifying to note that the Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s  government is under way to mollify some provisions of this law. The CM has  given a broad idea of the change  like curtailing the period of detention  of a detenue under Section 18 of the Act  and that the  Advisory Board would be made more potent than hitherto.  Nevertheless, it would do a lot of good to his intentions if the  proposed  amendments are thrown in the public domain for a  thorough debate  so that a comprehensive view  crystallizes, which may ultimately  go into the making of a modified   humane law.
One significant announcement made by the CM, in this regard, is that  the children would be taken out of the purview of the PSA. Welcome move indeed! Though one  could argue  that the  presence of the children  within the sweep of the PSA   is absolutely  illegal. They shouldn’t have been be there in the first place. The reason being that the custodial detention of the children – the juvenile delinquents ,accused of commission of offence of any nature, is anathema to the cannons of municipal and moral law.  How many times have we argued through these columns that  a child /juvenile who has come in conflict with law cannot be punished  or sentenced to any  kind of imprisonment. In worst case scenario the juvenile delinquent  has to be given in charge of his parent, guardian or a Probation Officer appointed under the  relevant law.  One may  tell the CM that apart from  proposing  to remove  children out of the PSA   various other categories of the persons need to be kept away  from the  Act ;  for example  women, old and infirm. A simple way to do so will be to define  ‘any person'  in Section 8 of the Act  in clear and unambiguous  terms.
Continuing with the cause of the children, who constitute one third of India’s population, one can safely say that  most of them are neglected everywhere.  In J& K  the unpleasant situation has made their plight all the more miserable. Thousands have been orphaned. The neglect often  brings  them  in conflict with the law. When we talk of the juvenile delinquents  many legal provisions  -spread  across various  enactments –and the pronouncements of the Apex Court, made time to time, come to our mind. Lately,  the Honorable Supreme Court  has ruled in case Sampurna Behrua v Union of India  - a public interest litigation  - that the Director Generals  of police  of the states should designate one police office in each police station  as juvenile/child welfare officer  to look after the interests of  a juvenile. Besides , the legal services authorities were asked  to train such police officers.Needless to say that  under Legal Services  Authorities Act  the children are entitled to the free legal aid. The pronouncement of the Apex Court is law of the land.
Thanks to the National  Legal Services Authority and the State Legal Services Authority  legal clinics have been set up in most parts of the state of J&K, where services of  para- legals have been made available to provide free legal aid and advice  to the poor, women and the children. Nonetheless, there is  an urgent need  to spread  awareness   among the deprived and disempowered  sections of the society  living in the far flung areas of the state. The state government may face hurdles in streamlining or revoking some of the laws, but this is the area  where it can – and it should-  make improvement  without  any constraints and  the encumbrances..NGOs  too   have a job cut out for them.
(B L Saraf is Former Principal District & Sessions Judge. Feedback at bushanlalsaraf@gmail.com or call at 94191-61022)

Lastupdate on : Sun, 13 Nov 2011 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sun, 13 Nov 2011 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Mon, 14 Nov 2011 00:00:00 IST