Mumbai: On Oct 23, Vasundhara Raje’s government passed an ordinance in interest of both present serving judges and former judges, magistrates and public servants in Rajasthan to protect them from being investigated for on-duty action. In order to do so, one will require prior sanction and this ordinance has been challenged in the Rajasthan High Court. Let’s look at the highlights of the ordinance
Highlights:
1. Under the proposed law, the media will no longer be able to report on the accusations against the magistrates and others until the prosecution gets the go-ahead signal from the sanctioning authority.
2. The ordinance amends the Criminal Code of Procedure, 1973 seeking on to curb on publishing and printing or publicizing in any case the name, address, photograph, family details of the public servants.
3. Two years of imprisonment in case of violating the clause.
4. Having no decision over the sanction request within the stipulated time frame, it will automatically be declared that sanction has been granted.
5. Any police complaint filed has to, by law, result in an FIR and an investigation will have to put on hold in the case of a certain category of persons till the sanctioning authority takes a call will probably fall foul of the law.
Congress Vice-President, Rahul Gandhi took scoff at Rajasthan’s Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje over the ordinance. He pointed out, “Madam Chief Minister, with all humility we are in the 21st century. It’s 2017, not 1817.”
There have been several protests against the ordinance. Even two of the MLAs from the ruling BJP government were seen rebelling against the new ordinance passed by terming it “a black law” and a “legislation that seeks to grant immunity to the corrupt.”
