Lucknow: The UP Control of Organised Crime (UPCOC) Bill was passed for the second time in the UP Vidhan Sabha on Tuesday without any amendments.
The Bahujan Samaj Party, the Samajwadi Party and the Congress protested against the Bill and staged a walkout.
They were demanding that the Bill should be sent to the select committee but the demand was dismissed by the Speaker.
The Opposition said that the Bill was anti-constitutional, and will be used to harass the opposition leaders and the media. The Bill had hit a roadblock in the Legislative Council on
March 13, where the Opposition is in the majority. The Bill was passed by the Vidhan Sabha on December 21, 2017 and was sent to the Vidhan Parishad where it was turned down and returned to the state assembly the following day. The Bill has been passed for the second time after which it will go straight for the assent of the President.
The Bill which has 28 provisions in addition to existing laws and.seeks to curb organised crime and deal strictly with those trying to foment terror or dislodge the government forcibly or through violent means.
The UPCOC Bill also seeks to act sternly against those using explosives or firearms or any other violent means or damaging life and property or involved in anti-national or destructive activity. Punishment in the Bill also includes death sentence and allow no bail for six months. The provisions allow for 30 days police remand for accused and the convicts would face a minimum jail term of three years and a maximum of life imprisonment or even a death sentence.
It also levies a fine of Rs 5 lakh to 25 lakhs and extends the period of filing a charge sheet from 90 days to 180 days. The Bill has shifted the burden of proof from the prosecution to the accused, violating the basic principle of the criminal law that says everyone is innocent until proven guilty. Earlier, while tabling the Bill for the second time in the state assembly, chief minister Yogi Adityanath termed it as the need of the hour to check organised crime.
