The Union government has returned two controversial bills passed by the Haryana Vidhan Sabha raising objections on certain provisions made in the bills.
As per the available information, the Haryana Control of Organised Crime Bill, 2024 and the Haryana Honourable Disposal of Dead Bodies Bill, 2024 were returned by the Centre for the reconsideration as the Centre has reportedly raised questions over certain provisions made in the bills.
The Haryana Control of Organised Crime Bill, aimed at curbing organised criminal activities in the state, includes stringent measures that have raised concerns at the central level. It is learnt that the bill was introduced to deal with the increasing number of cases of organised crime with strict punitive provisions. In the reply the Centre has raised questions over constitutionality of the clauses mentioned in the bill. As per the information this bill proposes punishments of up to life imprisonment for organised crime and penalties if the accused could not explain possession of certain properties.
Similarly, the second bill titled as Haryana Honourable Disposal of Dead Bodies Bill 2024 was reported aimed to regulate the use of dead bodies by protesters at sit-ins or for road blockades to pressurize government for their demands. The bill purposed that such practice must be prohibited . However the Centre raised certain objections to this legislation and sent it back to the state assembly. It is learnt that the state government was likely to withdraw these bills. As per the procedure, after a bill is passed, it is sent to the Governor, who reserves it for the President’s assent under Article 201 of the Constitution. Then the bill is sent to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for consideration.
The MHA sought input from the Ministry of Law and Justice and the Ministry of Finance ans highlighted some flaws in these bills and these bills were sent back to Haryana. Now the state government may withdraw these bills and may revise it by removing the objectionable provisions.
