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DAMODARAM SANJIVAYYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY.

SABBAVARAM.

INDIAN PENAL CODE - I.

War as I know it, Terrorist Invasion – in the purview of IPC.

Submitted to:- Dr. Nandini C.P.

Submitted by:-
Harsha .S. Ammineni (2015039).
VIth Semester, Section – B.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENT:

I would sincerely like to put forward my heartfelt thanks and appreciation to our respected
Indian Penal Code teacher, Dr. Nandini C.P. for giving me a golden opportunity to take up
this project regarding ―. War as I know it, Terrorist Invasion – in the purview of IPC.
I have tried my best to collect information about the project in various possible ways to depict
clear picture about the given project topic.
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CERTIFICATE

I hereby declare that the project work entitled “War as I know it, Terrorist Invasion
– in the purview of IPC”.submitted to Damodaram Sanjivayya National Law University, is
a record of an original work done by me, Harsha .S. Ammineni under the guidance of
Faculty Dr. NANDINI C.P, professor (INDIAN PENAL CODE ) For giving me a golden
opportunity to me to take up this project and this project work has not performed the basis for
the ward of any Degree or diploma/ associate ship /fellowship and similar project if any.

SIGNATURE OF STUDENT

SIGNATURE OF FACULTY
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TABLE OF CONTENTS:

 Research methodology.

 Scope of the project.

 Literature review.

 Introduction.

 Difference between Waging war and Terrorist Activities.

 NCRB Report.

 Provisions related to Waging war against State.

 Conspiracy to wage a war.

 Abets the waging of such War.

 Intention and Attempt of Waging war.

 Sedition.

 Terrorist Activity.

 Provisions related to Terrorist Activities.

 Provisions similar to TADA.

 Impact of such Anti-Terror laws.

 Special Laws and Conventions to prevent Terrorist Activities.

 Counter Terrorism.

 Detailed Case Analysis.

 Conclusion.
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Research Methodology:- The researcher has used the Doctrinal method of research for
the purpose of completion of the project.

Scope of the project:- The scope of this project revolves around and is limited to the
concepts of “Offences against the State” such as Waging of war against a State, Terrorist
Activities and the acts intended for their prevention.

LITERATURE REVIEW

WAGING DETERRENCE IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY1

In recent years many national security policy scholars and practitioners have questioned
whether deterrence remains a relevant, reliable and realistic national security concept in the
twenty-first century. That is a fair question. New threats to American security posed by
transnational terrorists, asymmetric military strategies and capabilities, and the proliferation
of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) by adversaries who see the world in profoundly
different ways than do we have called into question America’s reliance on deterrence as a
central tenet of our national security strategy. Some experts advocate a move away from
deterrence—and particularly the nuclear element of our deterrent force—toward greater
reliance on other approaches to provide for our security in a complex and dangerous
environment. In our judgment, deterrence should and will remain a core concept in our
twenty-first-century national security policy, because the prevention of war is preferable to
the waging of it and because the concept itself is just as relevant today as it was during the
Cold War. But its continued relevance does not mean that we should continue to “wage
deterrence” in the future in the same manner, and with the same means, as we did in the past.
As a starting point, it is useful to re-examine the fundamentals of deterrence theory and how
it can be applied successfully in the twenty-first century. Next we should consider how
deterrence does or does not apply to emerging twenty-first century forms of warfare. Finally,
we should carefully consider the role that US nuclear forces should or should not play in
twenty first-century US deterrence strategy.

1
Strategic Studies Quarterly, Vol. 3, No. 1 (SPRING 2009), pp. 31-42. Published by: Air University Press
 Page |6

TERRORIST ATTACKS: THE POLITICS OF CLAIMING RESPONSIBILITY 2

Since June 2016, there has been a surge in terrorist operations attributed to IS around the
world. IS’ militants and supporters were responsible for dozens of attacks in several countries
including the U.S., Jordan, Yemen, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, France
and most recently in Germany, Pakistan and Afghanistan, killing and injuring several
hundred people.

Although IS has claimed credit for most of these attacks, it has been reluctant to accept
responsibility for the attacks in Turkey and Saudi Arabia. Given the strategic value of a
successful terrorist attack, especially amidst significant military setbacks, it is worthwhile to
explore IS’ selective approach towards claiming responsibility as it will provide some
insights into IS’ strategic thinking, calculations and objectives.

The suicide attacks at the Istanbul Airport on 28 June 2016 and three attacks in Saudi Arabia
on 4 July 2016 bore all the hallmarks of those carried out by IS in Belgium and France
(Reuters 2016). While IS was quick to claim responsibility for the attacks in Belgium and
France, it has not done so for Turkey or Saudi Arabia. The nature of the attacks, the tactics
used, target selection, scale, timing, and post-attack investigations and arrests indicate both
attacks in Turkey and Saudi Arabia to be the work of IS.

WAGING EFFECTS-BASED OPERATIONS3

Since the opening of the Salvos on 21 March 2003, Operation Iraqi Freedom can continue to
be a different war, with Operation Iraqi Freedom being a milestone in many ways. For
example, it's time to be safe. For example, the time taken to achieve success was minimal for
major campaigns; Sensitive weapons are widely used in any other dispute; And the Coalition
casualities are relatively small for a large war. Operation Iraqi Freedom also took half as long
and required only one third as many troops in comparison to Operation Desert Storm about a
decade earlier. The swift and overwhelming nature of American success in Iraq has prompted
many to claim the arrival of many new influences, wars, or EBO.

2
Counter Terrorist Trends and Analyses, Vol. 8, No. 8 (August 2016), pp. 17-21. Published by: International
Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research
3
Security Challenges, Vol. 2, No. 1 (2006), pp. 157-168. Published by: Institute for Regional Security
 Page |7

EBO seeks to move away from a destruction centric, attrition based and linear approach to
warfare. Instead, an effects based approach to operations seeks to marry the means with the
ends by identifying the outcomes or strategic objectives desired in a campaign and then
deriving the means required to achieve those outcomes. If we view EBO as the marriage of
means with ends, then EBO can be considered as the making of strategy, or grand strategy as
some would prefer, which is the use of force or the threat of force for political ends.2 Implicit
in EBO is the focus on shaping behaviour of adversaries to such an extent that they will
choose to surrender and not fight if possible. The means or ‘effectors’ can comprise both the
use of force as well as the application of non-force measures like psychological operations.
Although the idea of destruction as a means to an end and not an end in itself is not a new
one, what is new is the attempt to describe the impact that physical action has in both the
physical as well as the cognitive or psychological domains of the adversary. A more
sophisticated approach recognises that every physical action has immediate effects, also
known as primary effects, secondary effects, as well as tertiary and unintended effects, and
treats the adversary as a complex adaptive system.

Despite the many proponents of EBO in the US, critics argue that the thinking on shaping the
behaviour of the adversary espoused by EBO is not new and resonates with the ideas of
prominent strategic thinkers in history like Sun Tzu and Clausewitz. For example, both Sun
Tzu and Clausewitz emphasise the importance of the psychological aspects of war, to the
extent that action in battle may be to gain psychological advantage alone rather than to
achieve a physical objective.

More recent thinkers on strategy have also emphasised the need to influence the thinking and
behaviour of the adversary. For example, Liddell Hart asserted that the perfection of strategy
was to produce a decision without any serious fighting and the aim of strategy was to
dislocate the enemy, which would result in either dissolution or easier disruption of the
enemy in battle. Douhet believed that a successful air attack on civilian infrastructure deep in
enemy territory would create tremendous moral and material effects on the civilian
population and break the enemy’s national resolve to fight. Both Liddell Hart and Douhet
evolved their theories as a way of circumventing the frontline, and avoiding the deadlock
experienced on the Western Front in the First World War, which resulted in horrendous
numbers of casualties.
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Critics would also point out that thinking and concept of EBO is not only rooted in historical
strategic thought, but that the tenets of EBO have also been applied in previous military
campaigns.

INTRODUCTION

The following are the ingredients of the War:

·A violent clash of interests between or among organized groups
·The use of military force
·A violent struggle between two wills, each trying to impose itself on to each other.
The target of the violence may be limited to hostile combatant forces, or itmay extend to
the enemy population at large. War may range from intenseclashes between large military
forces, to subtler, unconventional hostilitiesthat barely reach the threshold of violence.
Groups Engaging in War:-
Participants and groups are placed into two general categories:
· Nation-states
· Nonstates

Nation-States:
Nation-states are the groups traditionally engaging in warfare. They generally represent
countries or the modern nation as representative unit of the political unit.
Example of a Nation-State War:
An example of a war between nation-states would be the Iran-Iraq war from1980 to
1988. The participants were limited to the two nation-states. Other nations may have
provided indirect support, but they did not participate in actual combat operations.

Non state:
A non state group is a group that has no direct affiliation with a nation-state.These groups can
be composed of groups external to the nation state or an internal faction.
Examples of a non state groups include international coalitions or groups that share the same
ideologies. Their focus is to influence other non state or nation-state groups to bend to their
will.
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Two such examples would be:

·Nations assembled into the coalition forces for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
·Al Qaeda terrorist network that functions internationally, which is linked through ideology
rather than officially supported by a nation-state.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WAR AND TERRORIST ACTIVITY

War is an organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict that is carried on between states,
nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high
mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional, and widespread armed conflict
between political communities and it is defined as a form of political violence whereas
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. Although the
term lacks a universal definition, common definitions of terrorism refer to violent acts
intended to create fear (terror). These acts are perpetrated for a religious, political, or
ideological goal, and deliberately target or disregard the safety of the civilians.

War entails confrontation with weapons, military technology, or equipment used by armed
forces that employ military tactics and operational art within the broad categories of military
strategy and military logistics. War studies by military theorists have sought to identify the
philosophy of war and to reduce it to a military science. Conventional warfare is an attempt
to reduce an opponent’s military capability through open battle. Conventional war is declared
between existing states in which nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons are not used, or
they only see limited deployment in support of conventional military goals and manoeuvres.
Nuclear warfare is warfare in which nuclear weapons are the primary method of coercing the
capitulation of the other side, as opposed to the supporting role nuclear weaponry might take
in a more conventional war whereas Terrorism has been practiced by a broad array of
political organizations for furthering their objectives. It has been practiced by right-wing and
left-wing political parties, nationalistic groups, religious groups, revolutionaries, and ruling
governments. An abiding characteristic is the indiscriminate use of violence against civilians
to gain publicity for a group, cause or individual. Therefore, the power of terrorism comes
from its ability to leverage human fear to help achieve these goals.

The political and economic circumstances of peace following a war are highly situational—
post-war political and economic realities cannot be forecasted. When evenly adversaries
 P a g e | 10

decide that a conflict has resulted in a stalemate, they may cease hostilities to avoid further
loss of life and property. They may decide to restore the pre-war territorial boundaries,
redraw boundaries at the line of military control, or negotiate to keep or exchange captured
territory. Negotiations between parties involved at the end of a war often result in treaties,
such as the Treaty of Versailles of 1919, which ended the First World War.

NATIONAL CRIME REPORT BUREAU

Offences Against The State:

The offences committed by any person, which are against the following provisions of the
Indian Penal Code are construed to be Offences against the state:

Sec. 1214, 121 A5, 1226, 1237, 124 A8, 153 A9, 153 B10.

The bureau has collected the following data on such offences under the revised performance
of Crime in India since 2014.

REPORT REGARDING OFFENCES RELATED TO SEC. 153A AND 153B:

A total of 512 cases have been recorded under Offences against State from the year 2014
among which the following stand to record the highest number of cases.

S.NO STATE NO. OF OFFENCES COMMITTED

01 KERALA 72
02 ASSAM 56
03 KARNATAKA 46
04 RAJASTHAN 39
05 MAHARASHTRA 34
06 MEGHALAYA 32

Maximum number of arrests has been recorded for these cases in the state of Maharashtra
accounting to be 23.4% in the total number of arrests that had happened during that period.

4
Waging, or attempting to wage war, or abetting waging of war, against the Government of India
5
Conspiracy to commit offences punishable by section 121
6
Collecting arms, etc., with intention of waging war against the Government of India
7
Concealing with intent to facilitate design to wage war
8
Sedition
9
Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language,
etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony
10
Imputations, assertions prejudicial to national-integration.
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REPORT REGARDING OFFENCES RELATED TO SEC. 121, 121A, 122, 123, 124A:

A total of 176 cases have been recorded under Offences against State from the year 2014
among which the following stand to record the highest number of cases.

S. STATE ALL SEDITION ARRESTS CONSPIRING/ ARRESTS FOR

NO. ATTEMPT/ CONSPIRING/
FOR ATTEMPT/
WAGING WAR/
SEDITION COLLECTING WAGING WAR/
COLLECTING
ARMS ARMS
01 ASSAM 56 01 55 57
02 MEGHALAYA 32 32 67
03 BIHAR 20 16 28 32
04 JHARKAND 18 18 18
05 MANIPUR 10 05 10
06 WEST BENGAL 02
07 ODHISSA 02
08 ANDHRA PRADESH 01
09 HIMACHAL PRADESH
01
10 CHANDIGARH 01

Maximum number of arrests has been recorded for these cases in the state of Assam,
accounting to be 31.8% in the total number of arrests that had happened during that period.

REPORT REGARDING TOTAL NO. OF ARRESTS MADE:-

S. NO. OFFENCE UNDER TOTAL ARRESRED NO. OF MALE NO. OF FEMALE

01 SEC. 121, 121A, 122, 123. 224 220 04
02 SEC. 124A 58 58 00
03 SEC. 153A, 153B 872 865 07

PROVISIONS RELATED TO WAGING WAR AGAINST STATE:-

Section 121 deals with 3 items. Learning, effort and original war. This section is unique
because it consists of three elements of punishment. A variation has been made under the
common law and there is a distinction between the failed and relief. But as far as the
legislature is concerned, it will act in the same manner as crime is the highest crime for the
state.
The concept of participation in the war is usually war in battle. To conduct a deliberate and
organized attack on government forces and government agencies. The first reform came in
the year 1870, which was illegal to conspiracy against the country. Section 121A and Section
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121 of Section IV of this Section was introduced. This is the first version of the subject. This
is a crime against the Indian government through criminal force or show criminal forces.
According to this section, there is no need to take any law or illegal retirement in its
continuation, but under Section 107, if a law or illegal exclusion takes place, one conspiracy
to work with one or more persons in a conspiracy, and in order to do that. In other words,
except for specific crimes in section 121. The conspiracy is not a crime11. The position
changed in 1913 when the Criminal Law Amendment Act came into force. It passes an
emergency piece of legislation which gave an extended effect to the law of conspiracy of
India. This added two new sections that are sec.120A and 120B of the IPC. It was added in
Chapter V which widened the scope of the conspiracy.

CONSPIRACY TO WAGE A WAR ( 120 r/w 121)

If there is a conspiracy under this section, no action or unlawful exclusion is required in its
adaptation.
This section deals primarily with two types of conspiracies, conspiring to wage war against
the Government of India (or attempt to actually wage war) and conspiracy to consolidate
power through conspiracy or overawe. Immediately after two or more persons agreed to do or
to commit the offense, the illegal action through illegal means. The term 'overawe' causes the
situation in which pressure is being pressed to select the government to force or exonerate the
government or public officials at high risk. When someone struck men, factory workers or
clerks or police, their object will clearly point to their owners their demands. In England there
are criminals from the early part of the 19th century combinations. Subsequently, some
strikes made by Strikers were still a crime for many workers to strike a strike, even though
they have committed crimes. However, police and some other employees have been banned
by the strike. Each of the applets. When those who have been convicted of strike crimes &
others have agreed to do so, they jointly commit a more serious offense, conspiracy to
commit.
The term "section" does not appear anywhere in the penal code, except in this section and
another section (section 124) in the same section.
Under the Common Law of England, the conspiracy of a crime can be severely punished
rather than a commission of offense, and in England, however, a person who provokes
constables to a rebellion is sentenced to two years' imprisonment. In other words, the Rifles

11
Jublia Mallah v. Emperor’ AIR 1944 Pat 58 (B)
 P a g e | 13

& King's forces against the Rifles & the King's forces, to give people confidence to charge
and charge for such a charge. The seizure of weapons is part of a planned operation, and the
purpose of the opponents of the king's forces is to defeat these forces and then succeed as
long as any opposition and movement leaders are captured by the government. Or those in its
possession will be given the demands of their loaders.

Venu Nair V. Travancore, Cochin State12, it has been held : (i) that it was open to the
members of the society to achieve the object of the end of capitalism and private ownership
and establishment of a socialist State by all peaceful means, ceaselessly fighting public
opinion that might be against them and opposing those who desired the continuance of the
existing order of society and the present Government; (ii) that it would also be legitimate to
presume that they desired a change in the existing Government so that they could carry out
their programme and policy. But from these it did not follow that the society desired to bring
about the change by force and violence; (iii) that the mere use of the words ‘fight’ and ‘war’
in their pledge, did not necessarily mean that the society planned to achieve its object by
force and violence.

In Maganlal Radha Krishan v. Emperor13, the following characteristics of the offence of

waging war were pointed out:
i) No specific number of persons is necessary to constitute the offence of waging war;
ii) The number of persons concerned and the manner in which they are equipped is
immaterial;
iii) The true criterion is ‘Quo Animo’, did the gathering assemble;
iv) The object of the gathering must be to attain by force and violence an object of a general
public nature there by striking directly against the state authority.
v) There is no distinction between principal and accessory and everyone who takes part in the
unlawful act incurs the same guilt.

In Mir Hasan Khan v. State14, it was observed that it would not be enough to show that the
persons charged have connived to obtain possession of an armoury and have when called
upon to surrender it used the rifles and ammunition so obtained against the state troops. It

12
AIR 1955 Tra-Co 33
13
AIR 1946 Nag. 126
14
AIR 1951 Pat. 50
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must also be shown that the seizure of the armoury was part and parcel of a planned operation
and that their intention in resisting the troops of the State was to over helm and defeat the
troops and then to go on and crush any further opposition with which they might meet until
either the leader of the movement succeed in obtaining possession of the machinery of
Government or until those in possession of it yield to the demands of their leaders.

ABETS THE WAGING OF SUCH WAR15:

Abetment of waging war is made a special offence. In Maganlal v. King Emperor16 it was
observed that it is not essential that as a result of the abetment, the war should in fact be
waged. The main purpose of the instigation should be ‘the waging of war’.

It should not be merely a remote and incidental purpose but the thing principally aimed at by
the instigation. There must be active suggestion or stimulation to the use of violence.

In Ganesh D Savarkar17, it was observed that so long as a man only tries to inflame feeling, to
excite a state of mind, he is not guilty of anything more than sedition. One is guilty of
instigating and thereby abetting the waging of war only when he definitely and clearly incites
to action. It was held that the poems published by Ganesh D Savarkar conveyed to the readers
an instigation to wage war and the accused was guilty of abetting the waging of war.

INTENTION AND ATTEMPTING OF WAGING WAR:

Intention to wage war against the Government is the most essential ingredient under Section
121 of the code. In State (NCT of Delhi) v. Navjot Sandhu18, When terrorists enter
Parliament House with sophisticated weapons and powerful explosives, the deadliest target of
the dead terrorists and the decision to influence the country's sovereign power and the
government. This is an attempt to wage war or fight against the Indian government. Section

15
https://www.manupatrafast.in/pers/viewdocMain.aspx?qParam=vNJ90bfJfoGYZ5MoSaAPDj2vsagW0NmyW
VFKvdFwDIuqwZQATue2NVQ8SlKaO9zNXCdYZw0mNGaWDpT7AiQI=&sCol=YbSN1J7gKdc5Qs9v78xnXiwcazEQZ
ZswSjOK/fzZCYZnu6r6hchar(43) =1#match0
16
1946 MLJ 139
17
(1909) 12 Ban LR 105
18
2005 Cro LJ 3050 (SC)
 P a g e | 15

121 The war under IPC can be a crime, and the intention and purpose of non-combative
activities against government machinery is an important measure.

The court also stated that criminal acts by dead terrorists will allow the House to seize or
attempt to fight the war. The offense of war, military or other forces should not be a direct
target for the attack. It was also confirmed that foreign governments entering the territory of
India would be guilty of imposing war under Section 121 of the IPC to enter the society to
suppress government activities and to destabilize community.

In Nazir Khan and others v. State of Delhi19, it was observed that a pledge to overthrow
capitalism and private ownership and to work for the establishment of a socialist state does
not amount to waging war against the State, because every person is entitled to propagate the
political faith of his choice.

The concepts of Sedation and Terrorist Activities are related to this Waging war
against state and all the Terrorist Activities will come under the purview of waging war
against state. But, all the wars that are being waged on it may not be a Terrorist Activity.
Every Terrorist Activity will be considered a war being waged against the country as war is
the ultimate requirement for the other nation and that is been conveyed in such a way of
terrorism where as every war is not a Terrorist Attack as there may be no terror involved.

SEDITION:-
The laws of sedition can be found in the Indian Penal Code under s 124A. Today the Law of
Sedition in India has taken on the controversial significance of the change in politics, as it is
also a free constitutional rule of speech that promises fundamental rights and expression. In
some other laws, the law of punishment is also evolved. However, the general rule is similar
to all provisions and collected from 124A, IPC. This section was removed in the original
draft of IPC 1860. It was incorporated by an amendment in 1870, which was replaced by an
amendment of 1898. In some cases,20 21
it was held that “sedition in itself a comprehensive
term and embraces all those practices which are directed against the state. In the general

19
AIR 2003 SC 4427
20
R v. Sullivan [1984] AC 156
21
R v. Burns [2001] 1 S.C.R. 283, 2001 SCC 7
 P a g e | 16

sense of the term 'Sedition' refers to riots, rebellion, popular mobs or conflicts; It refers to
violence or illegal in some forms.
It was thus well established in England that in order to constitute sedition the words, etc.,
must not only bring the authorities into hatred, contempt or disaffection but should generate
or excite such an amount of intense hatred, contempt or disaffection as may lead to tumult or
public disorder.
The English law of sedition as expounded in the judicial decisions firstly formulates what is
sedition, secondly, states what is not sedition and thirdly lays down an external standard to
measure the hatred, contempt or disaffection which will bring the person who generates or
excites the same within the clutches of the law. The result, therefore, is that the English law
of sedition permits the freest public discussion, comment, criticism and censure, either at
meetings or in the Press, in relation to. all political or party questions, all public acts of the
servants of the Crown, all acts of the Government, and all proceedings of Courts of justice
and does not put any narrow construction upon the expressions used in such discussions,
etc.22 Incitement to violence is not a necessary ingredient of an offence under Section 124A
of the Indian Penal Code23.
In the case of Brij Bhushan and anr. Vs. the State of Delhi 24 must be recognised that freedom
of speech and expression is one of the most valuable rights guaranteed to a citizen by the
Constitution and should be jealously guarded by the Courts. It must also be recognised that
free political discussion is essential for the proper functioning of a democratic Government,
and the tendency of modern jurists is to deprecate censorship though they all agree that
'liberty of the press' is not to be confused with its 'licentiousness.' But the Constitution itself
has prescribed certain limits for the exercise of the freedom of speech and expression and this
Court is only called upon to see whether a particular case comes within those limits. In my
opinion, the law which is impugned is fully saved by Art. 19(2) and if it cannot be
successfully assailed it is not possible to grant the remedy which the Petitioners are seeking
here.

In the case of P. Hemalatha Vs. the Govt. of Andhra Pradesh25, citizens are certainly entitled
to express their grievances and to endeavour to get them redressed through lawful means.
However, if these attempts or exhortations bring the established Government or tend to bring

22
Urdu Daily Newspaper pratap Vs. the Crown, 1949CriLJ813
23
Emperor Vs. Sadashiv Narayan Bhalerao, (1944)46BOMLR459
24
[1950]SuppSCR245
25
AIR1976AP375
 P a g e | 17

it into hatred and contempt, they certainly come within the ambit of sedition as stated in Sec.
124-A, I.P.C. The test that should be applied is to find out whether any article or articles
intend to have the effect of creating feelings of hostility towards Government and to excite
disaffection.

TERRORIST ACTIVITIES:
The word ‘terror’ means the action or quality of causing dread and, alternatively, a person,
object or force, inspiring dread. Modern words like terror, terrorize, terrible, terrorism and
deterrent are believed to have been derived from the Latin verbs terrier to tremble or to cause
to tremble, and deferrer to frighten from.

The central meaning of concept of terrorism is “use of terror for the furthering of political
ends”, and it was originally used to denote the use of terror by the French revolutionary
government against its opponents. This is also the sense in which it was used, and on
occasions justified, by the Bolsheviks after 1917. The range of activities which the term
covers in rather wide. But four main forms are assassinations, bombings, seizures of
individuals as hostages, and, more recently, the hijacking of planes. In the 1970s, the terms
‘international terrorism’ and ‘state terrorism’ also began to be used.

What fundamentally distinguishes terrorism from other forms of organized violence is not
simply its severity but its features of amorality and antinomianism. Ideologists of terrorism
assume that the death and suffering of those who are innocent of any crime are means,
entirely justified by their political ends.

Political terror is characterized by: (a) indiscriminateness, (b) unpredictability, (c)

arbitrariness, (d) ruthless destructiveness, and (e) implicitly amoral and antinomian nature of
a terrorist’s challenge. Political terror may occur in isolated acts and also in the form of
extreme, indiscriminate and arbitrary mass violence.
 P a g e | 18

PROVISIONS PREVENTING SUCH TERRORIST ACTIVITIES:

The Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002 (POTA) was an Act passed by the Parliament of India
in 2002, with the objective of strengthening anti-terrorism operations. The Act was enacted
due to several terrorist attacks that were being carried out in India and especially in response
to the attack on the Parliament. The Act replaced the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance
(POTO) of 2001 and the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) (1985–
95), and was supported by the governing National Democratic Alliance. The Act was
repealed in 2004 by the United Progressive Alliance coalition.

The Act defined what constituted a "terrorist act" and who a "terrorist" was, and granted
special powers to the investigating authorities described under the Act. In order to ensure that
discretionary powers granted to the investigating agencies were not misused and human
rights violations were not committed, specific safeguards were built into the Act.

Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, commonly known as TADA, was an
Indian anti-terrorism law which was in force between 1985 and 1995 (modified in 1987)
under the background of the Punjab insurgency and was applied to whole of India. It came
into effect on 23 May 198526. It was renewed in 1989, 1991 and 1993 before being allowed to
lapse in 1995 due to increasing unpopularity after widespread allegations of abuse 27. It was
the first anti-terrorism law legislated by the government to define and counter terrorist
activities.

The Act defined what constituted a "terrorist act" and who a "terrorist" was, and granted
special powers to the investigating authorities described under the Act. In order to ensure that
discretionary powers granted to the investigating agencies were not misused and human
rights violations were not committed, specific safeguards were built into the Act.

Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act is an Indian law aimed at effective prevention of

unlawful activities associations in India. Its main objective was to make powers available for
dealing with activities directed against the integrity and sovereignty of India28.

26
Zaidi, S. Hussain (2002). Black Friday – The True Story of the Bombay Bomb Blasts.
27
Kalhan, Anil; et al. (2006). "Colonial Continuities: Human Rights, Antiterrorism, and Security Laws in India".
28
"UAPA, 1967 at NIA.gov.in" (PDF). NIA.
 P a g e | 19

PROVISIONS SIMILAR TO TADA:

Analogous to the provisions contained in TADA, the law provided that a suspect could be
detained for up to 180 days without the filing of charge sheet in court. It also allowed law
enforcement agencies to withhold the identities of witnesses, and to treat confessions made to
the police admissible in evidence. Under the provisions of criminal law in India, a person
could deny such confessions, in court, but not under POTA.[8] However the law did have
some safeguards. Any decision on bail petitions or the verdict of the special courts
constituted under this Act could be appealed from, to a division bench of the High Court
having jurisdiction. Also unlike TADA, it had no provision to allow preventive detention.

IMPACT OF SUCH ANTI-TERRORIST LAWS ON NATION:

The number of people arrested under the act had exceeded 76,000, by 30 June 1994.Twenty-
five percent of these cases were dropped by the police without any charges being framed.
Only 35 percent of the cases were brought to trial, of which 95 percent resulted in acquittals.
Less than 2 percent of those arrested were convicted. The TADA act was ultimately repealed
and succeeded by the Prevention of Terrorist Activities Act (2002-2004) and this act was
subsequently repealed after much controversy as well.

Coming to the impact of POTA, once the Act came into force, many reports surfaced of the
law being grossly abused. POTA was alleged to have been arbitrarily used to target political
opponents. Only four months after its enactment, state law enforcement officers had arrested
250 people nationwide under the Act, and the number was steadily increasing.

A mere eight months later, seven states where POTA was in force, had arrested over 940
people, at least 560 of whom were languishing in jail. Several prominent persons like Vaiko29
were arrested under the act.

The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act empowered Parliament to impose, by law,

reasonable restrictions in the interests of sovereignty and integrity of India, on the:

29
Vaiko, a Tamil politician, was controversially arrested under the POTA for his support to the Liberation
Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
 P a g e | 20

1. Freedom of Speech and Expression;

2. Right to Assemble peaceably and without arms; and
3. Right to Form Associations or Unions.

SPECIAL LAWS AND CONVENTIONS TO PREVENT TERRORIST

ACTIVITIES30:

1. 1963 Convention on Offences and Certain Other Acts Committed On Board Aircraft

 Applies to acts affecting in-flight safety;

 Authorizes the aircraft commander to impose reasonable measures, including
restraint, on any person he or she has reason to believe has committed or is about to
commit such an act, where necessary to protect the safety of the aircraft; and
 Requires contracting States to take custody of offenders and to return control of the
aircraft to the lawful commander.

2. 1970 Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft

 Makes it an offence for any person on board an aircraft in flight to "unlawfully, by

force or threat thereof, or any other form of intimidation, [to] seize or exercise control
of that aircraft" or to attempt to do so;
 Requires parties to the convention to make hijackings punishable by "severe
penalties"
 Requires parties that have custody of offenders to either extradite the offender or
submit the case for prosecution; and
 Requires parties to assist each other in connection with criminal proceedings brought
under the Convention.

30
https://www.manupatrafast.in/pers/Personalized.aspx
 P a g e | 21

3. 1971 Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civil
Aviation

 Makes it an offence for any person unlawfully and intentionally to perform an act of
violence against a person on board an aircraft in flight, if that act is likely to endanger
the safety of the aircraft; to place an explosive device on an aircraft; to attempt such
acts; or to be an accomplice of a person who performs or attempts to perform such
acts;
 Requires parties to the Convention to make offences punishable by "severe penalties";
and
 Requires parties that have custody of offenders to either extradite the offender or
submit the case for prosecution.

4. 1988 Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts of Violence at Airports Serving
International Civil Aviation, supplementary to the Convention for the Suppression of
Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civil Aviation

 Extends the provisions of the Montreal Convention to encompass terrorist acts at

airports serving international civil aviation

5. 1973 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against

Internationally Protected Persons

 Defines an "internationally protected person" as a Head of State, Minister for Foreign

Affairs, representative or official of a State or international organization who is
entitled to special protection in a foreign State, and his/her family; and
 Requires parties to criminalize and make punishable "by appropriate penalties which
take into account their grave nature" the intentional murder, kidnapping or other
attack upon the person or liberty of an internationally protected person, a violent
attack upon the official premises, the private accommodations, or the means of
transport of such person; a threat or attempt to commit such an attack; and an act
"constituting participation as an accomplice".
 P a g e | 22

6. 1979 International Convention against the Taking of Hostages

 Provides that "any person who seizes or detains and threatens to kill, to injure, or to
continue to detain another person in order to compel a third party, namely, a State, an
international intergovernmental organization, a natural or juridical person, or a group
of persons, to do or abstain from doing any act as an explicit or implicit condition for
the release of the hostage commits the offence of taking of hostage within the
meaning of this Convention".

7. 1980 Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material

 Criminalizes the unlawful possession, use, transfer or theft of nuclear material and
threats to use nuclear material to cause death, serious injury or substantial property
damage.

8. 2005 Amendments to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material

 Makes it legally binding for States Parties to protect nuclear facilities and material in
peaceful domestic use, storage as well as transport; and
 Provides for expanded cooperation between and among States regarding rapid
measures to locate and recover stolen or smuggled nuclear material, mitigate any
radiological consequences or sabotage, and prevent and combat related offences.

9. 1988 Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Fixed
Platforms Located on the Continental Shelf

 Establishes a legal regime applicable to acts against fixed platforms on the continental
shelf that is similar to the regimes established against international aviation.

10. 2005 Protocol to the Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the
Safety of Fixed Platforms located on the Continental Shelf

 Adapts the changes to the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against
the Safety of Maritime Navigation to the context of fixed platforms located on the
continental shelf.
 P a g e | 23

11. 1997 International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings

 Creates a regime of universal jurisdiction over the unlawful and intentional use of
explosives and other lethal devices in, into, or against various defined public places
with intent to kill or cause serious bodily injury, or with intent to cause extensive
destruction of the public place.

12. 1999 International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism

 Requires parties to take steps to prevent and counteract the financing of terrorists,
whether direct or indirect, through groups claiming to have charitable, social or
cultural goals or which also engage in illicit activities such as drug trafficking or gun
running;
 Commits States to hold those who finance terrorism criminally, civilly or
administratively liable for such acts; and
 Provides for the identification, freezing and seizure of funds allocated for terrorist
activities, as well as for the sharing of the forfeited funds with other States on a case-
by-case basis. Bank secrecy is no longer adequate justification for refusing to
cooperate.

13. 2005 International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism

 Covers a broad range of acts and possible targets, including nuclear power plants and
nuclear reactors;
 Covers threats and attempts to commit such crimes or to participate in them, as an
accomplice;
 Stipulates that offenders shall be either extradited or prosecuted;
 Encourages States to cooperate in preventing terrorist attacks by sharing information
and assisting each other in connection with criminal investigations and extradition
proceedings; and
 Deals with both crisis situations (assisting States to solve the situation) and post-crisis
situations (rendering nuclear material safe through the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA).
 P a g e | 24

IMPACT OF SUCH CONVENTIONS ON INDIA:

Terrorism in India has grown to a great extent in the last two decades. The bomb blasts in the
major cities like Bangalore, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, attack on Mumbai on 26th November, Pune
attack, Pulwama attack have outraged every patriotic Indian.

After the Mumbai attack, the Indian outlook towards the terrorists, terrorist activities and
terrorist organizations has changed and the laws have become more stringent to curb such
activities due to the impact of such conventions on the law. These conventions and special
statutes have put an end to the multifarious challenges in the management of its internal
security and decreased the upsurge of such activities in India. The criminal justice system of
India like the Criminal Procedure Code was not designed to deal with all such heinous crimes
and in view of this, India had to abide with the conventions to strengthen the punishments
and liabilities for such offences.

There have been many laws that are made in India but the protest against these laws on the
basis of the violation of the fundamental rights of the people. In the post anti terrorism laws
in India, protagonists have, however, hailed the legislation on the ground that it has been
effective in ensuring the speedy trial of those accused of indulging in pr abet terrorism but
this was lacking in the modern laws which are anti terrorist in nature and this made the
impact of conventions to act stronger on the Indian Anti-Terrorist Laws.

COUNTER TERRORISM:

While some countries with longstanding terrorism problems, such as Israel, have law
enforcement agencies primarily designed to prevent and respond to terror attacks, in other
nations, counter-terrorism is a relatively more recent objective of civilian police and law
enforcement agencies.

While some civil-libertarians and criminal justice scholars have called-out efforts of law
enforcement agencies to combat terrorism as futile and expensive or as threats to civil
liberties, other scholars have begun describing and analyzing the most important dimensions
 P a g e | 25

of the policing of terrorism as an important dimension of counterterrorism, and have argued

how police institutions view terrorism as a matter of crime control.

Given the nature of operational counter-terrorism tasks national military organizations do not
generally have dedicated units whose sole responsibility is the prosecution of these tasks.
Instead the counter-terrorism function is an element of the role, allowing flexibility in their
employment, with operations being undertaken in the domestic or international context. In
cases where military organisations do operate in the domestic context some form of formal
handover from the law enforcement community is regularly required, to ensure adherence to
the legislative framework and limitations. such as the Iranian Embassy Siege, the British
police formally turned responsibility over to the Special Air Service when the situation went
beyond police capabilities.
 P a g e | 26

DETAILED CASE ANALYSIS

 Prasad Shrikant Purohit and Ors. vs. State of Maharashtra31

Facts:- On 29th September 2008, at about 9:35 pm, the bomb explosion took place at
Malegaon, District Nashik, opposite Shakil Goods Transport Company, between Anjuman
Chowk and Bhiku Chowk. The blast was caused on account of explosive device fitted in
'LML Freedom Motor-Cycle'. In the said blast, 6 innocent persons lost their lives and about
101 persons had received injuries of various nature, coupled with the damage caused to the
property. As per prosecution case, since it was a month of holy Ramzan and on 30th
September 2008, the holy festival of Navratra was to commence, it was apparent that the
bomb-blast was caused with intent to terrorize the people, to cause loss of lives and property
and to create communal rift, to endanger the security of the State.

Issues:- Whether this is an offence under the provisions of Waging war against state
and will the accused be liable for the same?

Provisions:- Section 121 of IPC deals with the waging of war against the state and this
criminalizes the act or attempt of waging a war against the nation irrespective of him, directly
or indirectly being involved in such acts.

Held:- The court made them liable and they have been made liable for the
punishment, either the death or life imprisonment, provided for such offence.

 Abdul Hamid and Ors. vs. State of Rajasthan32

Facts:- At about 13:50 hours, on 19-10-1997, the security personnels of India while
patrolling on Border spotted few suspicious persons in the forest area of village Kachama.
One person under suspicion was over powered by security personnels and on interrogation he

31
MANU/SC/1029/2017

32
MANU/RH/1485/2014
 P a g e | 27

revealed presence of seven other persons in the nearby area. On search being made seven
other persons were forced to surrender. The eight persons surrendered before the security
force disclosed their identity as Taza Sarbaz, Abdul Hamid, Abdul Gair, Kharuddin Khan,
Zohrab Khan, Ayub Khan, Mohd. Hamza and Baaz Mohd, residents of Afghanistan. The
persons named above also surrendered huge arms and ammunitions including eight AK-56
guns, AK-32 rifles, hand grenades 15, hand grenades (Pak)-1 and ammunitions AK-960. The
complainant also informed that from 19.10.1997 to 31.10.1997 the persons apprehended were
interrogated by the security force and after availing necessary instructions from the senior
officers the report was filed and that caused delay in lodging the first information report. The
seizure memo with regard to recovery of arms comprising of eight paper leaves was also
submitted along with the first information report.
A charge-sheet was submitted before the competent court after completing necessary
investigation. On denial of charges trial commenced and by judgment dated 31.7.2006
learned Principal Judge, Kupwara acquitted all the accused persons being lacking evidence to
establish the charges. Hon'ble High Court of Jammu & Kashmir by an order dated 1.5.2008
quashed the order passed by learned Principal Judge, Kupwara acquitting the accused persons
and remanded the matter to be tried afresh. The trial in pursuance to an order passed by
Hon'ble Supreme Court of India came to be transferred to learned Sessions Judge, Jodhpur.
Learned Sessions Judge, Jodhpur transferred the case to the court of learned Special Judge,
SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act Cases, Jodhpur

Issues:- The important questions deserve adjudication in this appeal are that whether
the trial court is right in arriving at the conclusions that--
(1) the accused persons were arrested with huge arms and ammunitions as referred in the
seizure memo;

(2) the accused persons waged or attempting to wage war or abating waging of war against
Government of India or entering into any conspiracy to commit offence punishable by
Section 121 of Ranbir Penal Code; and

(3) they collected arms etc. with intention of waging war against Government of India or
concealing existence of a design to wage war against Government of India.

Provisions:- It was established that the offences are punishable under Sections 121, 121-A,
122 and 123 of the Indian Penal Code
 P a g e | 28

Held:- They were held liable as it was considered to be a war waged against the state
and thus, punishments were given.

 State of Maharashtra, through Crime Branch DCB, CID and another v

Chandrabhan Sudam Sanap and another33

Facts:- FIR was registered against appellant for offence punishable u/s. 302, 201 of
IPC - Sessions Judge concluded that conduct of accused clearly fell within rarest of rare act
and in backdrop of gruesome, calculated and diabolic offence causing death of helpless,
young, and innocent girl aged 23 years deserves only death penalty and has accordingly,
imposed same on accused on his conviction u/s. 302 of IPC

Issues:- Whether he is liable under Section 201 of IPC and in appeal, whether the
conviction order passed by session judge was justified and was he liable under Section 302 of
IPC.

Provisions:- The act committed was clearly under the scope of Section 201 of IPC and also,
the court has noticed that there is no remorse on his part. As against this, manner of
commission of crime by him and causing death of deceased is extremely shocking. Merely
because his behaviour as under trial prisoner is good and satisfactory, can be no ground to
absolve him of most gruesome and cruel act which he has indulged into. Such person would
surely remain menace to Society.

Held: Appeal dismissed. The court is of firm view that there are no extraneous
mitigating circumstances available on record which may justify imposition of sentence less
than death sentence which Sessions Court has imposed. Court record that case of appellant
deserves to be falling in category of Rarest of Rare and it also amounts to devastation of
social trust, shocks social conscience and calls for extreme penalty of capital punishment.

33
2018 Indlaw MUM 1749
 P a g e | 29

 Mohammed Ajmal Mohammad Amir Kasab Alias Abu Mujahid and Others Vs.
State of Maharashtra and Others34.

Facts: The appellant, Mohammed Ajmal Mohammad Amir Kasab @ Abu Mujahid,
who is a Pakistani national, has earned for himself five death penalties and an equal number
of life terms in prison for committing multiple crimes of a horrendous kind in this country.
Some of the major charges against him were: conspiracy to wage war against the Government
of India; collecting arms with the intention of waging war against the Government of India;
waging and abetting the waging of war against the Government of India; commission of
terrorist acts; criminal conspiracy to commit murder; criminal conspiracy, common intention
and abetment to commit murder; committing murder of a number of persons; attempt to
murder with common intention; criminal conspiracy and abetment; abduction for murder;
robbery/dacoity with an attempt to cause death or grievous hurt; and causing explosions
punishable under the Explosive Substance Act, 1908.

He was found guilty of all these charges besides many others and was awarded the death
sentence on five counts, life-sentence on five other counts, as well as a number of relatively
lighter sentences of imprisonment for the other offences.

Apart from the appellant, two other accused, namely Fahim Ansari and Sabauddin Ahamed,
both Indian nationals, were also arraigned before the trial court and indicted on the same
charges as the appellant.

Issues: Whether the committed act comes under the purview of conspiring to wage
war against the nation or not and whether the concept of Death penalty is constitutionally
valid or not.

Principle: Though it is indeed to be awarded in the “rarest of rare cases when the
alternative option (of life sentence) is unquestionably foreclosed”. Now, as long as the death
penalty remains on the statute book as punishment for certain offences, including “waging
war” and murder, it logically follows that there must be some cases, howsoever rare or one in
a million, that would call for inflicting that penalty.

Held:- Death penalty was said to be valid constitutionally and the court was thus left
with no option but to hold that in the facts of the case the death penalty is the only sentence

34
2012(7)SCALE553
 P a g e | 30

that can be given to the appellant. We hold accordingly and affirm the convictions and
sentences of the appellant passed by the trial court and affirmed by the High Court.

 High Court of Karnataka, Represented by the Registrar General and Others Vs.
Syed Mohammed Ibrahim and Others35

Facts: A series of bomb blasts at Churches situate at various places rocked the State
of Karnataka in the year 2000 attempting to disturb the normal tranquillity of the civilized
society and the peace loving people of Karnataka who believe in co-existence of all religious
denominations. The Karnataka Government constituted a Special Court for trial of these
cases numbering four, in Bangalore. These Appeals and Reference arise out of the bomb blast
that took place at St. Peter and Paul Church situated at JJ Nagar Main Road, Bangalore.

Issues: Whether the act committed by the offender comes under the ambit of waging
war against the country or not.

Principle: The act committed is clearly under the purview of the terrorist attack and it
will be punishable.

Held: The court held him to be liable and this case was considered to be the rarest of
the rarest cases and he was held liable under the provisions of POTA.

 State vs Mohd. Afzal And Ors.36

Facts: The 13 December 2001 attack was conducted by the Jaish-e-Mohammad

(JEM) Gunmen sneaked into the Parliament in a car with Home Ministry and Parliament
labels. They drove into the then Vice President Krishna Kant’s car parked in the premises and
began firing. The ministers and MPs escaped unhurt. The attack was foiled due to the
immediate reaction of the security personnel present at the spot and complex. There was a
fierce gun-battle lasting for nearly 30 minutes. Nine persons including eight security
personnel and one gardener lost their lives in the attack and 16 persons including 13 security
personnel, received injuries. The five assailants were killed.

35
CRIMINAL RC NO.3 OF 2008
36
2003 (3) JCC 1669
 P a g e | 31

While both the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha had been adjourned 40 minutes prior to the
incident, many members of parliament (MPs) and government officials such as Home
Minister LK Advani and Minister of State for Defence Harin Pathak were believed to have
still been in the building at the time of the attack. More than 100 people, including major
politicians were inside the parliament building at the time. The gunmen used a fake identity
sticker on the car they drove and thus breached the security deployed around the
parliamentary complex. The terrorists carried AK47 rifles, grenade launchers, pistols and
grenades.

Issues: The following are the issues raised in this case – whether he is convicted under
the sections of POTA and the Indian Penal Code including waging of war against the
Government of India and conspiracy to commit the same; murder and criminal conspiracy;
conspiring and knowingly facilitating the commission of a terrorist act or acts preparatory to
a terrorist act, and also voluntarily harbouring and concealing the now-deceased terrorists,
knowing that such persons were terrorists and were members of the Jaish-e-Mohammad.

Principle: The act committed by him was waging war, conspiracy, murder, attempt to
murder etc. with the provisions of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002 (POTA) being
added to the original charges after six days.

Held: Relying on the circumstantial evidence, the special court awarded capital
punishment to Guru, Shaukat and Geelani. Shaukat's wife Afsan was found guilty of
concealing the plot and sentenced to five years in jail. He was also sentenced to life
imprisonment on as many as eight counts under the provisions of IPC, POTA and Explosive
Substances Act in addition to varying amounts of fine. In August 2003, Jaish-e-Mohammed
leader Ghazi Baba, who was a prime accused in the attack was killed in an encounter with the
Border Security Force (BSF) in Srinagar. In October 2003, on an appeal, Delhi High Court
upheld the order. An appeal was again made in Supreme Court and the Supreme Court
admitted that the evidence against Guru was only circumstantial, and that there was no
evidence that he belonged to any terrorist group or organisation. He was subsequently meted
out three life sentences and a double death sentence.

Mercy petition was filed before Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and this petition was also rejected
and he was executed with the death penalty.
 P a g e | 32

CONCLUSION:

The Indian Penal Code punishes the Offences against the Sate such as Waging war and
Terrorist Activities. Both waging of the war and the Terrorist activities are criminal offences
and they are injurious to the public and for the development of the society. The study has a
statistical data and systematic study about such offences that have been committed in a period
of time. These offences not only disturb the public peace, but also create a disturbance in the
society and causes many inconveniences.

When there are people who are suffering because of such offences, these offences committed
will be punishable under the Indian Penal Code strictly and the punishment of life time
imprisonment or death sentence will be pronounced against the people or person who
commits such a crime. Such cases will be taken into the purview of the rarest of the rare cases
and will be tried.

Many think terrorism is of special significance in Indian criminal laws. Given that
eyewitnesses are invariably difficult to find and motive is not easily established, treating
terrorists as ordinary criminals would result in low convictions. Indian anti-terror law has
evolved from the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA) through the Terrorist
and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, 1987 (TADA) to the Prevention of Terrorism Act,
2002 (POTA).

In PUCL Vs. Union of India37, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of POTA
as not “offending Article 19(1)(a) and 19(1)(c) of the Constitution of India”. In Kasab Vs.
State of Maharashtra38, the Supreme Court approved the death sentence of the terrorist given
“the death penalty remains on the statute book as punishment for certain offences, including
waging war and murder.” A Constitution bench in Kartar Singh Vs. State of Punjab39,
however, reaffirmed that “no civilised democratic country has accepted confession made by
an accused before a police officer as voluntary and above suspicion, therefore, admissible in
evidence.” Indeed, police atrocities and coerced confessions violate the civil liberties of the
accused. The lack of evidence haunts investigating agencies that often use force, an unlawful
means, to strengthen their cases.

37
AIR [2003] SC 2363
38
(2012) 9 SCC 1
39
1961 AIR 1787, 1962 SCR (2) 395