New Act to combat crime

The Code of Criminal Procedure (Special Provisions) Bill introduced to detain suspects in Police custody up to 48 hours was passed in Parliament with an overwhelming majority. The Government members who categorically denied certain allegations by the Opposition members on this new piece of legislation said that the aim of this Bill is to adopt stringent measures to combat crime and also to ensure the security of suspects in Police custody.

The UNP, DNA and TNA members who voted against the Bill argued that there was no justification to extend the 24 hour detention to 48 hours. The Opposition members described this as a move to harass the political opponents. However, the Government members who joined the debate rejected these claims by the Opposition members. They said on the floor of the House that the sole intention of this amendment was to further strengthen the existing laws to combat rising crimes. During the debate both the Government and the Opposition members adduced a series of arguments to justify their stand.

Environment Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa opening the debate said that the amended law was not intended to give additional powers to Police but crack down the organized crimes in the country. He maintained the view that the existing 24 hours detention is not sufficient for the Police to conduct investigations. It is to facilitate the Police they investigation of grave crimes that the detention of suspects of organised crimes would be extended.

The Minister said that all suspects would not be detained for 48 hours but only those suspected of murder, homicide, attempt to commit murder, kidnapping or abduction with intent to wrongfully confine a person, rape, robbery and those committing an offence with the use of explosives and firearms would be detained.

Minister Yapa also denied the claim by some Opposition members that this new piece of legislation would bestow extra powers to the Police to harass the suspects in Police custody. He said the

new measures would always protect the person in Police custody. He stressed the need to introduce novel ways and give powers to Police to deal with rising wave of crimes.

However, Chief Opposition Whip John Amaratunga who joined the debate was very critical of the views expressed by Minister Yapa on the Bill. Amaratunga who opened the debate for the Opposition said it was dictatorial in nature and the UNP had decided to oppose it. He said there is an ulterior motive behind this legislation to take revenge from political enemies.

The Police is no longer independent but act on the orders of politicians. If in this context that the government wanted to amend the 24 hour detention law that existed for more than 100 years. The Government through the introduction of this bill intends to further keep political opponents in Police custody and harass them. He made the point that if the Police carry out its duties properly, it doesn’t need even 24 hours to conduct an investigation. Citing an example, the MP questioned as to how the Police could immediately retrieve a valuable clock owned by Sri Lankan Airlines Chairman which had been robbed. When there is no terrorism in the country, what is the purpose of extending the 24 hour detention up to 48 hours, he queried.

Some Opposition members also referred to the independence of judiciary and the impeachment process against the former Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake. This came into light when MP John Amaratunga attempted to make certain references on the judiciary and the impeachment motion against the former Chief Justice. The MP said the entire world is concerned over Sri Lanka because of the Government’s stand on the former Chief Justice.

Amaratunga who was critical of the impeachment process alleged Justice Minister Rauf Hakeem would have even told the Party Leaders’ meeting that the process adopted to impeach former Chief Justice was wrong. He attempted to impress that the Government had evaded the constitutional provisions on the impeachment motion.

Buddasasana Deputy Minister M.K.D.S. Gunawardene criticized the views expressed by MP John Amaratunga on the impeachment process. The Deputy Minister said that the UNP which had walked out from the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) now speaks about the impeachment motion merely to gain political mileage. If the UNP alleges that the impeachment process is wrong and it violates the human rights, nobody would ever believe it, he said. He said some people attempted to tarnish the image of the country.

He said no previous Government could end the war against terrorists. It was however President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa who successfully ended the war as they didn’t succumb to international pressure. If the Opposition is against this Bill, it means they are trying to protect criminals, the deputy minister said.

TNA Parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran said they opposed this Bill as it extends the period of detention to 48 hours in Police custody. The police can use the extra time to get the suspects to make confessions. The MP said that there is no sense at all of further detaining a suspect with the Police for another 24 hours.

There are lots of cases where Police officers have been found guilty of torturing suspects in their custody. DNA MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake said that the majority of police officers in fact fulfill their duties.

They have however been unable to do so due to political interference. The government is using its two-third majority in parliament not only to repress the masses but also to cover its past sins. That is why the effective date of this Bill has been backdated. We would vote against this Bill.

Deputy Health Minister Lalith Dissanayake who joined the debate said people are not ready to listen to sermons on democracy from today’s Devadatthas. This is amply seen by the resounding victories our Government had recorded in the recent past. This is not a repressive law.

Justice Minister Rauf Hakeem who responded to the Opposition queries told the House that the aim of this Bill was to prevent the abuses. He said there ought to be a zero tolerance in Sri Lanka. The policy of zero tolerance is reflected in this bill. The Government is committed to uphold the rule of law. The Minister said that the two factions of the JVP were very active over this issue during the past two or three days and attempted to give a wrong impression of this Bill. However, the UNP was lagging behind them due to its internal strife.

Minister Hakeem told the House that this Bill applied only to a few serious crimes and this has been welcomed by the legal fraternity. This bill had been discussed in the Consultative Committee stages where the Opposition was present, on several occasions before being included in the Order Paper. He said

that he had lengthy discussions with the members of the Bar Association and the Opposition on the provisions of this Bill and its effect. He explained that a suspect could not be detained for 48 hours merely because the police wanted to do so.

The suspect has to be produced physically before a Magistrate who only could permit further detention. These are positive aspects in the Bill. The Minister said that the Bill provides for suspects to consult an Attorney-at-Law while in custody. He told the House that he had proposed that an Attorney-at-Law be placed at every Police Station. The Minister said the provisions of this Bill were to be implemented since 2007 but it could not be enforced as Parliament had been dissolved.