Maintenance of Internal Security Act

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Maintenance of Internal Security Act
Maintenance of Internal Security Act
Parliament of India
Enacted byParliament of India
Status: Repealed

The Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) was a controversial

Indian parliament in 1971 giving the administration of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Indian law enforcement agencies very broad powers – indefinite preventive detention of individuals, search and seizure of property without warrants, and wiretapping – in the quelling of civil and political disorder in India, as well as countering foreign-inspired sabotage, terrorism, subterfuge and threats to national security. The law was amended several times during the subsequently declared national emergency (1975–1977) and used for quelling political dissent. Finally it was repealed in 1977, when Indira Gandhi lost the 1977 Indian general election and the Janata Party came to power.[1]

History

The Act was enacted on 2 July 1971, and replaced the previous ordinance, the "Maintenance of Internal Security Ordinance" promulgated by the President of India on 7 May 1971. The Act was based on the Preventive Detention Act of 1950 (PDA), enacted for a period of a year, before it was extended until 31 December 1969.[2]

The legislation gained infamy for its disregard of legal and constitutional safeguards of

forcibly sterilized.[3][4]

The legislation was also invoked to justify the arrest of Indira Gandhi's political opponents, including the leaders and activists of the opposition Janata Party. In all, during the emergency period of 1975–1977, some 100,000 people, which included journalists, scholars, activists and opposition politicians were detained without trial for a period of up to 18 months. Some people were even detained for opposing forced sterilization drives or demolition of slums carried out during this period.[1]

The

Basic Structure.[citation needed
]

The law was repealed in 1977 following the election of a

44th Amendment Act of 1978 similarly removed MISA from the 9th Schedule.[2]

However, other coercive legislation like

Terrorism and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA, 1985–1995), and the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA, 2002), criticized for authorizing excessive powers for the aim of fighting internal and cross-border terrorism and political violence, without safeguards for civil freedoms.[2][5]

Pension

In the non-Indian National Congress ruled states of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh,[6][7] people detained under Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) and Defence of India Act (DIR) during the 1975-1977 national emergency, get Rs. 15,000 pension per month from the respective state governments. In 2014, the Rajasthan government restarted its pension scheme of Rs. 12,000 per month for 800 enlisted former detainees, first launched under Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje's first term in 2008. The scheme was discontinued in 2009, by Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government.[6][8]

Detainees

Some notable political leaders imprisoned under Maintenance of Internal Security Act:

See also

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 978-0-8018-8791-8
    .
  2. ^
    ISBN 0-7923-2432-3
    .
  3. ISBN 978-81-7629-992-3
    .
  4. ISBN 978-81-7100-798-1
    .
  5. ISBN 978-81-7829-884-9
    .
  6. ^ a b "Raje re-launches pension scheme for MISA and DIR detainees". The Hindu. 1 March 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  7. ^ "Misa detainees to get monthly pension in Chhattisgarh". The Telegraph. 24 May 2008. Archived from the original on 29 May 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  8. ^ "Monthly pension to detainees under Maintenance of Internal Security Act". The Times of India. 4 January 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  9. ^ "'Vajpayee was in Bengaluru prison during Emergency'". Business Standard India. 16 August 2018.
  10. ^ "Stalin files nomination papers, set to become DMK president". The Economic Times.

External links

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