Why in News?

• Our honourable President Ram Nath Kovind has given his assent to the ‘Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organised Crime (GCTOC) Bill’, a controversial anti-terror legislation which was passed by Gujarat assembly in 2015.

Key Provisions of the Bill:

• It defines ‘terrorist acts’, as including “an act committed with the intention to disturb law and order or public order or threaten the unity, integrity and security of the State”, apart from economic offences.
• Inclusion of Economic offences: The economic offences under GCTOC include Ponzi schemes, multi-level marketing schemes, and organised betting. It also includes extortion, land grabbing, contract killings, cybercrimes, and human trafficking.
• Special Courts: It also provides for the creation of a special court as well as the appointment of special public prosecutors.
• Attachment of Properties: It provides for attachment of properties acquired through organised crimes. Transfer of properties can also be cancelled.

Provisions of the Bill considered to be Controversial:

• The legislation makes offences under this Act as Non-Bailable.
• The Bill provides for admissibility of evidence collected through interception of mobile calls of an accused or through confessions made before an investigating officer, in a court of law.
• The bill empowers police to tap telephonic conversations and submit them in court as evidence.
• The act also provides for making confessions before police officers admissible in court.
• The Bill provides immunity to the State government from legal action.
• It extends period of probe from stipulated 90 days to 180 days before filing of charge sheet.

Background:

• The Bill was earlier named as the Gujarat Control of Organised Crime Bill.
• It failed to get the presidential nod thrice since 2004.
• So, GCTOC has finally become law after Sixteen years of first version of it was passed by the Gujarat Assembly.