What is the National Security Act, (NSA),1980 Or RASUKA ?

What is NSA,(1980)?

The National Security Act of 1980 is an act of the Indian Parliament promulgated on 23 September, 1980 whose purpose is "to provide for preventive detention in certain cases and for matters connected therewith".The act extends to the whole of India. It Contains 18 sections. This act empowers the Central Government and State Governments to detain a person to prevent him/her from acting in any manner prejudicial to the security of India, the relations of India with foreign countries, the maintenance of public order, or the maintenance of supplies and services essential to the community it is necessary so to do. The act also gives power to the governments to detain a foreigner in a view to regulate his presence or expel from the country. The act was passed in 1980 during the Indira Gandhi Government.

Recently, the National Security Act,1980 Or Rasuka is imposed in various cases in different states of india. recently many offenders are arrested under this law for attacking corona warriors, doctors, nurses, housekeeping staff and security personals.

Let us know in this article, what is the National Security Act (NSA), or Rasuka, when is it imposed and what kind of punishment provisions are there under it?

Under the law, the maximum span for which a person can be detained is 12 months. However, the government can extend it, if it feels so.A person detained under the NSA can be held for ten days without being told the charges against him/her.

Typically, if a person is arrested, then he/she enjoy certain rights bestowed by the Indian Constitution. The person has to be informed of the reason for the arrest. Under Section 50 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), the person arrested has to be informed. However, in the case of the NSA, the person can be held up to ten days without being informed of the reason.

Sections 56 and 76 of the same penal code guarantee the detained person to be produced before a court within 24 hours. Apart from this, Article 22(1) of the Constitution allows the detainee to seek legal advice from a legal practitioner. However, under the NSA, none of these above mentioned basic rights is permitted to the suspect.

Surprisingly, there is no data available for the number of people slapped with the NSA till this day. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) does not list the number of people booked under it.

History of this Law

The act was passed in 1980 during the Indira Gandhi Government. The National Security Act is not the first law of its kind to be enacted in India. The Defense of India Act of 1915 was amended at the time of the First World War to enable the state to detain a citizen preventively. The Rowlatt Committee, approved after the First World War, recommended that the harsh and repressive I provisions of the Defense of India Act be retained permanently on the statute books. The interesting feature of the Rowlatt Bills was that they empowered the State to detain a citizen without giving the detainee any right to move the law courts, and even the assistance of lawyers was denied to a detainee. The Jallianwalla Bagh tragedy was a direct result of the protest against these Rowlatt Bills.

The Government of India Act, 1935 gave the powers of preventive detention to the State for reasons connected with defense, external affairs, or discharge of functions of the Crown in its relations with the Indian States. The provincial legislatures had the power to formulate laws for reasons connected with the Maintenance of Public Order. When the Constitution of India was enacted, Article 21 guaranteed to every person the right of life and liberty which could not be denied to him without honoring the due procedure established by law. In A.K. Gopalan's case, the Supreme Court distinguished "the procedure established by law" from the "due process of law" saying that any procedure duly enacted would be a "procedure established by law". However, this view now stands reversed in Maneka Gandhi's case where the Supreme Court has held that the "procedure established by law" must also be just, fair and reasonable.

Article 22 of the Constitution laid down the scheme under which a preventive detention law could be enacted. The PD Act 1950 was enacted and it continued to be on the statute book until the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) was enacted in 1971. The MISA was repealed in 1977. And the only period in the Indian "republic without any preventive detention law was the three year period, beginning with the repeal of MISA in 1977 to the promulgation of the NSA in 1980

About the Law

• The National Security Act of 1980 is an act of the Indian Parliament promulgated on 23 September 1980
• It Contains 18 sections.
• The act extends to the whole of India
• This act empowers the Central Government and State Governments to detain a person to prevent him/her from acting in any manner prejudicial to the security of India, 

Nature of the Law

•  If a person is arrested, then he/she enjoy certain rights bestowed by the Indian Constitution. The person has to be informed of the reason for the arrest. Under Section 50 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), the person arrested has to be informed. However, in the case of the NSA, the person can be held up to ten days without being informed of the reason.
• Under the law, the maximum span for which a person can be detained is 12 months.
• Sections 56 and 76 of the same penal code guarantee the detained person to be produced before a court within 24 hours. Apart from this, Article 22(1) of the Constitution allows the detainee to seek legal advice from a legal practitioner. However, under the NSA, none of these above mentioned basic rights is permitted to the suspect
• Surprisingly, there is no data available for the number of people slapped with the NSA till this day. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) does not list the number of people booked under it.
  

Empower to this Law

•  The law empowers the center and state government to detain a person to bar him from acting in any matter prejudicial to national security.
• The arrest orders can be issued by the District Magistrate or Commissioner of Police under their respective jurisdiction

Amendments & Punishments

• Any person does serious crime and found liable under this law shall be imprisoned with the of  7 years or fine up to 700000 rupees fine or both
• Any person does crime which may be less serious would be liable under this law which may be imprisoned of 2 years or fine or both

Criticism of the National Security Act (Rasuka)

• The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) does not include cases under the NSA in its data because very few FIRs are registered under this law. Therefore, there is no accurate information about the number of arrested persons under this act.
• Under this law, a suspect can be arrested without giving any reason and even he/she is not allowed to hire a lawyer for some time. That is why this law is also compared to the British Rowlatt Act. According to many experts, the state governments have also used NSA as 'Extra-Judicial Power'.

Famous Cases which are booked under the NSA or RASUKA

Chandrashekhar Ravana

• Chandrashekhar Ravana, the founder of 'Bhim Army', was also arrested under 'Rasuka' and kept in jail for a year but released later on.
  

Dr.Kafeel Khan

• Kafeel Khan is a suspended lecturer at the Department of Paediatrics, Baba Raghav Das Medical College, Gorakhpur. Khan did his MBBS and an MD from Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Karnataka. He joined BRD Medical College and Hospital in 2016 as a permanent commissioned employee.

Tablighi Jamaat

It has been charged on tablighi jamaat that they were hiding in the nizamuddin markaz during the period of lockdown at a period when large have been restricted and also charged with misbehaving to the medical staff