National

Sinha for special laws to deal with economic offences

By Our Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI APRIL 7. The Union Finance Minister, Yashwant Sinha, today called for adequate laws and specialised tribunals to effectively deal with economic offences.

Speaking at a seminar on "combating terrorism and other crimes through forfeiture of property", he said the Finance Ministry would look into judicial arrangements to deal with laws dealing with economic offences.

Mr. Sinha said: "Economic offences are still not regarded as seriously as criminal offences. We have to look at our laws in the liberalised environment. If people can get away with economic offences, then we cannot run a liberalised economy. It is imperative to look at laws afresh with liberalisation of economies globally and advancing of technologies.''

Although Indian laws allowed investigation of bank accounts for alleged funding of terrorists, the secrecy laws in developed nations prevented tracing such activities and the source of terrorists' funding.

These nations must review their secrecy laws to ensure that they did not become a haven for terrorist funding.

India had recently frozen several accounts for alleged terrorist funding after the United Nations came up with a list of terrorist outfits and their bank accounts, he said.

Mr. Sinha said countries which were fomenting terrorism should be "disciplined''. The Saudi dissident, Osama bin Laden, flourished in Afghanistan because everything was "Talibanised" there.

"We know of other states, the names of whom need not be taken, which are fomenting terrorism. These states have to disciplined.''

After September 11, terrorism had emerged as one of the biggest challenges to democracy.

The issue of financing international terrorism and other heinous crimes had also gained importance all over the world.

He said Indian lawmakers must work towards containing the menace of terrorism which threatened the social and economic fabric of civil societies.

The Union Law Minister, Arun Jaitley, said no one should be allowed to keep the proceeds of crime. It was very important to find the source of terrorists' funding and then freeze and forfeit the same.

Describing terrorism as a great threat to the civil society, he said, "the problem is that hard measures to curb terrorism can alienate people.''

Presiding over the valedictory session, the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, I.D. Swamy, said the Government would consider enacting a comprehensive law that would take care of forfeiture of properties earned through terrorism and other forms of crimes.

Justice B.N. Kirpal, Supreme Court Judge, said it was important to curb and eliminate the scourge of terrorism as the huge earnings of criminals empowered them. Forfeiture of their property could be a strong deterrent for terrorists and other criminals. Justice M. Karpagavinayagam, Judge, Madras High Court, said there were enough laws to deal with terrorism and all forms of offences.

But what was needed was their effective implementation and enforcement.

He suggested that confession made before a police officer in the rank of Superintendent of Police be made admissible evidence under all laws. "When such an admission made before either a Forest officer or a Customs officer is accepted as an admissible evidence, why should not the same made before a Superintendent of Police be accepted as admissible evidence'', he said.

Justice Easwara Prasad, chairman, Appellate Tribunal for Forfeited Property, explained the role of the tribunal, which had organised the seminar on the occasion of its silver jubilee year.

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