History
Pursuant to the acceptance by Government of a unanimous recommendation of the Committee on National Integration and Regionalism appointed by the National Integration Council, the Constitution (Sixteenth Amendment) Act, 1963, was enacted empowering Parliament to impose, by law, reasonable restrictions in the interests of sovereignty and integrity of India, on the:
- Freedom of Speech and Expression;
- Right to Assemble peaceably and without arms; and
- Right to Form Associations or Unions.
The object of this Bill was to make powers available for dealing with activities directed against the integrity and sovereignty of India. The Bill was passed by both the Houses of Parliament and received the assent of the President on 30 December 1967. The Amending Acts are as follows:
- The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act, 1969;
- The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 1972;
- The Delegated Legislation Provisions (Amendment) Act, 1986;
- The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act, 2004,
- The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act, 2008
This last Amendment was enacted after POTA was withdrawn by the Parliament. However, in the last Amendment Act in 2004, most of provisions of POTA were re-incorporated. In 2008, after Mumbai attacks, it was further strengthened.
Read more about this topic: Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act
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“While the Republic has already acquired a history world-wide, America is still unsettled and unexplored. Like the English in New Holland, we live only on the shores of a continent even yet, and hardly know where the rivers come from which float our navy.”
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