SC faults UP Gangsters Act, says it is prone to misuse
The Supreme Court of India has criticized the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters Act, stating it is prone to misuse due to a lack of legal safeguards. The bench noted that the law fails to define specific criminal offenses, instead allowing for detention based on administrative 'Gang Charts'.
Why it matters
This ruling highlights significant concerns regarding the intersection of administrative power and civil liberties in Indian penal law.
NEW DELHI: Pointing out various flaws in Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, Supreme Court on Thursday said the law is prone to misuse as there is no safeguard against vindictive and malicious action against innocents.A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and K Vinod Chandran said the special Act does not create any offence, which is the requirement of any penal law. "But for the definition clause, defining 'gang' and 'gangster', there is no offence insofar as the membership in the gang or acting in cohort with a gang, either singly or together," it said."The subject enactment, the UP Act not only permits detention for a period without anything more than the inclusion in a Gang Chart but also enables a trial and punishment on the basis of the very same Gang Chart, in addition to the pre-trial incarceration, but without an offence being created by the…
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