The panels will address complaints by individuals booked under the anti-terror law. Their decision will be binding on the government and the police.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed that the charges under Prevention of Terrorism Act against 134 accused in the 2002 Godhra train burning incident in Gujarat shall be dropped and the trial can resume against all the accused under the provisions of the IPC.
The Gujarat High Court on Monday dismissed a petition challenging the Central Pota Review Committee's recommendation of dropping Prevention of Terrorism Act charges against the accused in Godhra train carnage case. With this decision, nearly 134 accused in the Godhra train burning case will not be tried under the repealed anti-terror law.
According to sources, the government will provide a sunset period of one year during which various committees will review all POTA cases and there will be no arrests made after the ordinance is promulgated.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Y K Sabharwal and Justice C K Thakker directed that the matter shall be heard in August.
The Union Cabinet had on Tuesday cleared the ordinance to give statutory powers to the review committees.
During the hearing, about six accused, including Chand Khan who was arrested from Jammu and Kashmir, complained of atrocities during public custody.
The Bombay high court on Friday upheld the death sentence of three Lashkar-e-Tayiba members, including a couple, in the 2003 twin Mumbai blasts that claimed 52 lives.
The committee asked the Tamil Nadu government to withdraw charges against Nedumaran, Suba Veerapandian (then spokesman of Marumalarchi Dravidsa Munnetra Kazhagam), Paavanan alias Pudukottai Paavanan, Thayappan and Shahul Hameed.
A special court on Thursday refused to discharge 2 accused held for conspiring the twin blasts in the city in August 2003.
Arun Saharya, former chief justice of Punjab and Haryana high court, would head the committee.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam has made application to the POTA Review Committee.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday started the hearing for examining the constitutional validity of a POTA provision that binds courts to abide by the Review Committee's findings on the applicability of the anti-terror law, which is now defunct.
Repealing the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and passing an anti-torture bill consonant with the Convention against Torture would have a more durable impact on malicious prosecutions than providing 'legal aid' or setting up special courts, according to rights groups, says Vicky Nanjappa
'The government must covertly eliminate the leaders of terrorist organisations abroad so as to eliminate the problem at its roots,' recommends Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
