April 02, 2002
‘7’
PRESIDENT’S ASSENT TO FOUR MORE BILLS
The President has given his assent to the Inter-State Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2002, the Prevention of Terrorism Bill, 2002, the Institute of Technology (Amendment) Bill, 2002 and the Passport (Amendment)Bill, 2002. With this, these four Bills, passed during the First Half of the current Budget Session of Parliament, have been notified in the Gazette of India as Act Nos. 14, 15, 16 and 17 respectively of the year 2002. All these Acts have come into force with immediate effect.
The Inter-State Water Disputes (Amendment) Act, 2002, seeks to amend the Inter State Water Disputes Act, 1956 to enable expeditious disposal of inter-states water disputes by tribunals in a time bound frame, to provide for effective implementation of their decisions and to seek a setting up of a data bank and information system at the national level for each river basin. This also gives effect to the recommendations of Sarkaria Commission on Centre State Relations as approved by the Inter-State Council.
The Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002, seeks to deal with types of heinous crimes like subversion, insurgency and terrorism in place of the existing criminal justice system, which is not designed to deal with such horrific crimes. The Act replaces Ordinance first promulgated on October 24, 2001 and re-promulgated thereafter in December, 2001. It provides for continuity of action taken under its predecessor the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance, 2001. In addition, the Act provides for prevention of, and for dealing with terrorists activities. However, sufficient safeguards have been provided in law to prevent the possibility of its misuse by official agencies. The Act also meets the requirement of the United Nations resolution calling upon member nations to enact a model deterrent law to curb the growing menace of internal and global terrorism. This is the third Act passed in a joint session of Parliament since the Constitution of India was enforced from January 26, 1950.
The Institute of Technology (Amendment) Act, 2002, which replaces Ordinance promulgated in October, 2001 and re-promulgated in December, 2001, seeks to bring the Roorki University into the fold of and merge it with the Indian Institutes of Technology as the country’s seventh Indian Institute of Technology. This also amends the principal Act of 1956.
The Passport (Amendment) Act, 2002, which replaces Ordinance promulgated in October, 2001 and re-promulgated in December, 2001, seeks to confer on the Government the power to suspend the passport and related travel documents of subversives and terrorists in order to curb their international movement. The Act seeks to amend the Passport Act, 1967. The amendment has been effected in the light of the judgements of High Courts and the Supreme Court of India from time to time.