Last Change:
12/26/2024
The Law and Order Disruption Crimes Speedy Trial Act (STA)
Year: 2002
Type: Domestic law
Rights Category: Liberty & security of person
Description
In 2002, Parliament passed the Law and Order Disruption Crimes Speedy Trial Act (STA). It contains a provision for the trial in special courts of those accused of certain crimes. The STA has a bail provision with mandatory recording of the grounds for granting bail. As a safeguard against misuse of the law, it provided punishment for bringing false charges with jail terms from 2 to 5 years. The provisions of this Act shall have effect notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force.
Selected provisions
In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context-
(a) “offense” means law and order disruption crime;
(b) “law and order disruption crime” means-
(i) by intimidation or application of unlawful force of any kind-
(1) demanding, realizing or gaining extortion, aids or money or goods in any other name or realizing or attempting to realize any other kind of facilities from any person, or statutory body, or institution; or
(2) creating obstacle or disruption to the movement of traffic along roads, railways, waterways or airways or forcing any driver of any vehicle contrary to his will to change the movement of the vehicle to a different direction; or
(ii) willfully causing damage to any vehicle; or
(iii) willfully destroying or vandalizing any movable or immovable or other kind of property of the Government, or any statutory body, or any institution, or any person; or
(iv) attempting to mug or mugging or forcefully snatching away any money, ornaments, valuables or any other objects or vehicles from any person; or
(v) creating fear or violence or creating disorder or anarchy by planned or sudden showdown of power or influence alone or in a gang in any place, house, shop, marketplace, street, vehicle or institution; or
(vi) forcefully hindering or creating obstacles to the purchase, sales, receipt or submission of tender of any statutory body or institution or compelling anyone to receive or not to receive tender;
(vii) upon directly or indirectly intimidating any officer of staff of any public or statutory body or institution or any of his close relatives compelling such officer or staff to perform or deterring him from performance of an act or hindering him from discharging his duties;
(1) If any person commits any law and order disruption crime, he shall be punishable with rigorous imprisonment for a term not less than two years and not exceeding seven years and, in addition to that, with fine.
(2) If any person who has been punished under sub-section (1) causes any financial loss to the Government or any statutory body or institution or any person while committing such offense, for such loss the Court may order such person who has been so punished to pay such amount of compensation as it thinks fit in favor of the Government or the statutory body or institution or the person that sustained such loss and such compensation amount shall be recoverable as public demand.
If any person abets in the commission of any law and order disruption offense, he shall be punishable with such punishment as referred to in section 4.