Form of words:
New Delhi: A group of 100 former civil servants, including IAS, IPS and IFS officers, have written an open letter to Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju, asking the government to implement a constitutional amendment on preventive detention approved by Parliament in 1978 on a date notified has been urged to do. .
To prevent misuse of the provision of preventive detention by governments, the amendment sought to “provide for (a) an impartial and independent advisory board to examine the appropriateness of preventive detention”.
Currently, under Article 22 of the ConstitutionAny advocate who is qualified to be a judge of a High Court can be appointed to the advisory board, which decides whether one can be detained for more than three months.
However, the 44th Constitutional Amendment decree That the Advisory Board should be headed by a sitting Judge of that High Court and that at least two serving or former Judges of any High Court shall be members “in accordance with the recommendations of the Chief Justice of that High Court”. Unless the Board says so, no one can be placed under preventive detention for more than two months.
In Letter, written on Saturday, said the former civil servants would be ridiculed if the date was not notified.
“At present, any advocate who is eligible to become a High Court judge can be appointed to the advisory board. In fact, any advocate with ten years or more of practice can sit on the advisory board. As such, this provision is vulnerable to abuse by governments, which, instead of appointing neutral, independent members to the board, may appoint individuals of their choice, including those with allegiance to the political party in power. ,” reads the letter.
The group, which refers to itself as the ‘Constitutional Practices Group’, includes AS Dulat, former chief of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and former Intelligence Bureau (IB) special director, Wajahat Habibullah, former Chief Election Commissioner. Includes major names. , GK Pillai, former Union Home Secretary, and former Foreign Secretaries Shyam Saran and Sujatha Singh.
The former civil servants said they have no affiliation with any political party and only believe in “fairness, neutrality and commitment to the Constitution of India”.
“The unintentional delay of 43 years in issuing this notification has resulted in gross violation of human rights and progressive erosion of our cherished democratic values,” the letter said.
(Edited by Neha Mahajan)
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