Author: Seemaa Kamdar
Publication: DNA India
Date: July 17, 2007
[Note from the Hindu Vivek Kendra: This bill
is addressed to onlythe Hindus. An organisation called the Andh-Shradha Nirbhan
Andolan (Anti Superstition Movement) has been the forced behind it, and has
always targetted the 'superstitions' in Hinduism, and never of either Islam
or Christianity.]
Maharashtra set to become first state to pass
a well-intended yet ambiguous Act that tries to eradicate black magic
After over 15 years of head-banging over a
Bill to curb superstition and black magic, the decks appear to have finally
cleared for the Bill to be passed. If this happens, the Maharashtra Eradication
of Black Magic and Evil and Aghori Practices Bill will be the first such law
to be passed in the country. A previous draft of the Bill was rejected by
all political parties as being anti-religious, forcing a prolonged rethink.
The government has referred the fresh Bill to a joint committee of the legislature.
The committee has sought suggestions and objections from the public by July
30.
The Bill aims to curb malpractices in the
name of miracles or acts that can cause harm to others. Shyam Manav, one of
the bill's draughtsmen, says, "A fresh law is necessary to tackle human
sacrifices and malpractices that collapse in courts due to the need to prove
the intention behind an act in the IPC."
"We have distilled all objections and
suggestions received from political parties and come up with a Bill, under
the guidance of former Supreme Court Judge PB Samant, that targets only non-religious,
irrational practices," says Manav.
The Bill has seen turbulence ever since its
first avatar surfaced in 1992. The draft was tweaked and changed several times
till the Shiv Sena-BJP Cabinet gave its nod before remitting office in 1999.
The Vilasrao Deshmukh government made more changes, after which Sushilkumar
Shinde in 2003 sent it to the governor for promulgating an ordinance, but
was sent back to the government.
When Deshmukh came back to power in 2004,
the Bill was tabled in 2005 session only to face opposition from legislators
of all parties. The objectionable clauses such as inclusion of the term "superstition",
"blind faith", and references to the stirring of the deity within
one's body were removed. The revised draft met at least the Congress, NCP
and BJP's approval and got eventually passed in the Assembly.
The Bill lists as punishable practices acts
like "expelling a ghost by tying a person with ropes or chains, beating
him with a stick or whip, making him drink water in which footwear is soaked,
making him inhale chilli smoke, hanging him from the roof, plucking his hair,
causing pain by way of pressing heated object to the organs or body, forcing
him to perform a sexual act in the open, practicing aghor acts, putting urine
or human excreta forcibly in the mouth.''
But Bill still has some still grey areas.
For one, it is loosely worded and lacks precise definitions. Section 2 (2)
says that the words and expressions used in the Bill are to derive their meaning
from the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954
(DMR) and the Criminal Procedure Code. "I studied the DMR Act but it
is not about jadu tona," says Ramesh Shinde, state spokesperson of the
Hindu Jan Jagriti Samiti. The Bill brands "so-called" miracles a
punishable crime while leaving the definition to the DMR Act. This provision
has caused consternation with activists questioning whether well-known saints
who perform miracles will be put behind bars. "Our religious texts talk
of gains which can be construed as miracles. The Gita has passages which may
sound like miracles. How many of us can discriminate between faith and blind
faith?" says Shinde.
Manav defends the Bill saying, "It is
difficult to define non-scientific matters. Still, definitions can always
be fine-tuned, or spelt out in the rules framed following the passage of the
Act. Wherever definitions are not clear, the dictionary meaning is to be applied."
The Bill envisages the creation of a special
police officer to detect and prevent offences under this Act and gives him
powers to enter or search a place on suspicion. "It gives extensive powers
to the police," says Delhi-based lawyer Atul Dua. The Act, he says, could
target religious customs. "All religions have customs and the police
may not necessarily be able to differentiate between a custom and a superstition
or malpractice." Because of the same inherent weakness, the act could
end up hitting upon alternative systems of medicine "at a time when the
Union Ministry of Health is actually trying to give them a fillip," Dua
says.
While admitting that the draft was far superior
to its previous version circulated years ago, critics warn that the Bill could
be misused. Clause 13 of the Bill exempts "acts involving religious rites
and rituals which do not adversely affect any person mentally, physically
or financially." This, says Shinde, is ambiguous. "A Jain Muni's
fast can be dubbed as causing physical harm or an astrologer recommending
a pooja for gruh shanti can be hauled to court for making money." A member
of the joint committee said the Bill could be altered if necessary. But if
at all it is tabled, it will be in the winter session after the committee
makes its report.