Tripura law invalid, says court

AGARTALA, April 17: The failure of the state government to revalidate the Tripura Code of Criminal Procedure Act 1997 after two years, as statutorily required, has led to many people being held in jails without trial. In a significant ruling, the sub-divisional judicial magistrate of North Tripura's Dharmanagar sub-division yesterday declared the law as invalid. Law secretary A.B. Pal and other senior officials, away for a seminar in North Tripura, were not available for comment. The matter has been brought to the notice of the law department and registrar of the Guwahati High Court. Sources in the law department said the issue had come up before the magistrate concerned in connection with a bail petition of two persons detained under the lapsed Act, which provides for six months of detention without trial. While hearing the petition, opposed by assistant public prosecutors, Justice N.K. Sinha observed that the amended Act which was given Presidential assent on December 6, 1997 and needed to be revalidated by legislative sanction within three years. However, despite the fact that there has been at least one Assembly session after the expiry of the Act, it was not taken up by the House. While granting bail to the two accused and declaring the Act as "invalid" Sinha ruled: "It may not be out of place to mention here that in some other cases also the accused persons are in custody after the expiry of the statutory period as per provision of Section 167 CrPC. Thus, the code of Criminal Procedure Act 1997 is declared invalid". Sources said the judgment would have a cascading effect on all cases under the Act as more than 300 accused continued to languish in jails. The Tripura government had first amended the Act after the June 1980 riots to detain people for three months without trial. Because of relentless insurgent activities and in order to prevent suspected militants from obtaining bail easily, the state government amended the Act again in 1997.