Controversial Gujarat anti-terror law gets President's nod

Ahmedabad: President Ram Nath Kovind has given his assent to the Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organised Crime (GCTOC) Bill, a controversial anti-terror legislation passed by the BJP-ruled state in March 2015.

One of the critical features of the new Act is intercepted telephonic conversations would now be considered as legitimate evidence.

The announcement on the Presidential assent was made by Gujarat Minister of State for Home, Pradeepsinh Jadeja, in Gandhinagar on Tuesday.

The bill, earlier named as the Gujarat Control of Organised Crime (GUJCOC) Bill, had failed to get the presidential nod thrice since 2004 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the chief minister of the state.

In 2015, the Gujarat government re-introduced the bill by renaming it as the GCTOC but retained the controversial provisions like empowering the police to tap telephonic conversations and submit them in court as evidence.