New Delhi: Gujarat’s attempt to have anti-terror law of its own has once more hit Centre’s road-block as the President Pratibha Patil has withheld her assent to the controversial Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organised Crime (GUJCOC) Bill that was sent to her for ‘mandatory’ approval by the state governor over two years ago.
President has returned the eight-year-old Bill to Gujarat as the state government had not made amendments in certain clauses of the proposed legislation as suggested by the Union Cabinet in 2009.
The provisions of the Bill, which attracted the Centre’s strong objection, include Clause 16 which allows admissibility of confessional statements of accused before a police officer during trial and Clause 20 that provides that no accused of an offence punishable under the proposed legislation will be released on bail if the prosecutor opposes it.
“The President (Pratibha Patil) has withheld her assent from the Bill on January 22 as the state government had not made any amendments in clauses 16 and 20 in the said Bill as per the directives contained in Presidential message to the earlier Bill.
President has returned the eight-year-old Bill to Gujarat as the state government had not made amendments in certain clauses of the proposed legislation as suggested by the Union Cabinet in 2009.
The provisions of the Bill, which attracted the Centre’s strong objection, include Clause 16 which allows admissibility of confessional statements of accused before a police officer during trial and Clause 20 that provides that no accused of an offence punishable under the proposed legislation will be released on bail if the prosecutor opposes it.
“The President (Pratibha Patil) has withheld her assent from the Bill on January 22 as the state government had not made any amendments in clauses 16 and 20 in the said Bill as per the directives contained in Presidential message to the earlier Bill.
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