The Rajya Sabha passed The Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022, after discussion during the second half of the day’s session. Union Home Minister Amit Shah replied to the discussion on the bill and said that the bill would not infringe on anyone’s privacy.
The House also passed the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2022 on Wednesday that seeks to include Tripura’s Darlong community in the list of Scheduled Tribes.
On Tuesday, Rajya Sabha passed the Chartered Accountants, the Cost and Works Accountants and the Company Secretaries (Amendment) Bill, 2022.
After the discussion and the reply of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Rajya Sabha passed the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill to amend the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957. The Bill seeks to unify three municipal corporations of Delhi into a single body. It was passed in the Lok Sabha on March 30, 2022.
Here are the latest updates:
House adjourns till 11 a.m. on April 7
Rajya Sabha adjourns till 11 a.m. on April 7, 2022 (Thursday). Prior to adjournment, the House heard Special Mentions by several MPs.
Rajya Sabha passes The Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022
After more than three hours of debate, the Rajya Sabha passes The Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022, by a voice vote.
House votes against referring bill to Select Committee
A motion to refer The Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022, to a Select Committee of the Rajya Sabha is rejected by a division with 59 voting in favour and 97 voting against.
Amit Shah replies to P. Chidambaram
Amit Shah replies to a question by P. Chidambaram and clarifies the bill does not include narco-analysis, brain mapping and polygraph tests. Earlier, Mr. Chidambaram had asked if the bill would include the three tests which he said were constitutionally not allowed in the country.
In his reply to another question, Mr. Shah also says there are no mentions of minorities in the bill.
Amit Shah replies to discussion on The Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022
Union Home Minister Amit Shah replies on the discussion on The Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022.
Responding to concerns about human right violations raised by the opposition MPs, Mr. Shah says that the victims of a crime also have human rights and urges the House to consider it. He also recognises that those caught by the law also have human rights.
Further, he also assures that the data and the records collected by the government will not be accessed by third parties. He also says the bill does not intend to infringe on anyone’s privacy.
‘Draconian’ says CPI MP Binoy Viswam on The Criminical Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022
Communist Party of India MP Binoy Viswam says The Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022, as “draconian”.
“You want to threaten everybody. You want to take away all the human rights. You want to take the rights of the democratic movement of the country,” he says. “This government has no regard for freedom,” he adds.
DMK’s Tiruchi Siva says bill need to be discussed elaborately
DMK MP Tiruchi Siva says The Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022, should be discussed more elaborately and not within the three hours allocated today. He also urges for the bill to be referred to the select committee. He also says the bill “erodes the fundamental rights of the citizenw” and has “strong implications” on the civil liberties and basic human rights.
Mr. Siva also expressed apprehensions that the government might use the law against political parties, activists and writers.
“I would like to say very humbly, in the natural process of democracy I would like to remind the ruling party, one day you will be out of power. And at that time, you will be regretting for all the laws you have enacted in this House during your tenure,” he says.
Minor ruckus in House after BJP’s Mahesh Jethmalani refers to Maharashtra’s MVA govt
Some opposition members raised objection to BJP MP Mahesh Jethmalani as he says the Maharashtra state government is about to introduce a criminal records database. Mr. Jethmalani says he was referring to a newspaper report while making the reference which has not yet been denied by the Maharashtra government.
However, Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge says, “Always in this House, we have followed that no papers should be referred.”
‘Unconstitutional, illegal’: P. Chidambaram on Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022
Congress MP P. Chidambaram urges Centre to refer the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022, to be referred to a standing committee or a select committee and also terms the bill “unconstitutional, illegal”. He also asks if the measurements in the bill include narco-analysis, polygraph test, brain electrical activation profile and psychiatric examination. He urges the government to make it explicit whether the tests are included in the bill.
Mr. Chidambaram also points to another section of the bill, which says records collected could be shared with any law enforcement agency, and says there is no definition for a law enforcement agency.
He also cites European Court of Human Rights and says the retention and storage of fingerprints, DNA profile and cellular samples without consent are violations of human rights. “There is no scientific basis to presume that any of the measurements including handwriting, fingerprints is unique to a person.”
Respect the suggestions received from the MPs during the discussion, says Renuka Singh Saruta, Minister of State for Tribal Affairs.
During her reply, MoS Saruta responds to concerns raised by ministers about the condition of tribal communities in their regions. Responding to Dr. Shantanu Sen, Ms. Saruta alleges that the West Bengal government has blocked central government health and education schemes for tribal communities.
Members place demands to add more regional communities to the Scheduled Tribes list.
In light of the addition of the Darlong community of Tripura to the list of Scheduled Tribes through the Amendment Bill, MPs have raised demands to more communities from their regions to the list as well.
Rajya Sabha resumes proceedings
The Upper House is now discussing the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2022.
Rajya Sabha adjourned
The House will resume proceedings at 2.00 p.m.
Minister of State Nityanand Rai’s replies invoke objections from MPs
Mr. Rai is replying to questions on the infrastructure development in Jammu and Kashmir and on the role and significance of the National Disaster Management Authority.
Minister of Women and Child Development Smriti Irani answers questions on Integrated Child Development Services
Question Hour is in progress in the House.
Rajya Sabha members raise concerns about teachers and professors hired on contracts
Sujeet Kumar raises the issue of teachers not being appointed permanently in a central university in Odisha. “The University should have 20 departments but because of lack of teachers, only 14 departments are currently running.”
“Contract teachers are appointed on an ad-hoc basis with no service benefits, no job security, and lower salary than regular teachers, and this has caused a general discontent among the teachers,” says V. Vijaysai Reddy. In response, Chairman Venkaiah Naidu says that this issue must be taken care of by state governments.
List of Business
- Papers, reports of the parliamentary standing committee to be laid on the tablE
- P. Wilson, Sujeet Kumar to present the 72nd report of the Committee of Privileges on breach of privilege arising out of allegedly casting aspersions on the Hon’ble Chairman, Rajya Sabha by a Member in a press interview
- Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti to make a statement on Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana- Gramin (PMAY-G)
- Question Hour
- Arjun Munda to move The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2022
- Amit Shah to move The Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022
- Discussion on the working of the Ministry of Labour and Employment
Day 16 recap
Tuesday’s proceedings kicked off with oath and affirmation by two new members of the Rajya Sabha, Dr Sikander Kumar (BJP, Himachal Pradesh), Manik Saha (BJP, Tripura).
Questions were raised about food adulteration and nutritional information labelling in the House.
The Chartered Accountants, the Cost and Works Accountants and the Company Secretaries (Amendment) Bill, 2022 was taken up for discussion, subsequently the Bill was passed in the House.
Amit Shah introduced the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 for consideration and passing. He said the Bill is not against the federal structure of the country as the National Capital Territory of Delhi is not a complete State. After the discussion and the reply of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Rajya Sabha passed the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill to amend the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957. The Bill seeks to unify three municipal corporations of Delhi into a single body. It was passed in the Lok Sabha on March 30, 2022.
