Gandhinagar,  With an intention to provide more space and time to the police in discharging their duties, the Gujarat government on Wednesday amended the provisions of Section 195 of the CrPC by passing the Criminal Procedure (Gujarat) Amendment Bill, 2021 on the penultimate day of the Budget session of the state Assembly amid opposition from the Congress.

Passed in the House on the basis of majority, the amendment Bill allows the police to file chargesheet which the court shall take cognisance of, eliminating the process of framing of chargesheet by the appallete authorities.

Section 195 of the CrPC made it mandatory for the public servant (the magistrate or the police commissioner) to issue the notification to the complainant against the violators of Section 144 of CrPC (for violating the notification) in the event if the police need to take legal action against incidents of violation under Section 188 of the IPC (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant).

The new amendment will empower the police to directly file an FIR against the violators of the notification under Clause 144.

Tabling the bill in the House, state Home Minister Pradipsinh Jadeja said that Section 195 of the CrPC prohibited the courts from taking cognisance of the offences except on a complaint in writing from the public servant who has issued the notification under Section 144 of the CrPC.

The amendment will facilitate registration of criminal cases based on the information received from the police officers regarding commission of cognisable offences under Sections 174-A and 188 of the IPC.

Jadeja said, "The law can be stable but not directionless, and looking at the present circumstances, there is a need to make some changes."

However, the leader of opposition Paresh Dhanani disagreed with the justification given by the Home Minister.

"This amendment is giving the powers of a magistrate to an advocate. The Clause 144 has been constantly used against the public for an average of 300 days a year, in some or the other parts of the state. According to the existing provision, only the district magistrate or the police commissioner was empowered to issue the notification under Clause 144. According to the Criminal Procedure Act, 1973, Clause 195, it was mandatory for a public servant to become the complainant against the violator, meaning that if a notification under Clause 144 was violated, the notifier had to be the complainant," said Dhanani.

"Through this amendment, an attempt is being made to cuff the peaceful protester's expression of disagreement towards the government through notification issued under Clause 144. The common man will be put behind bars through this notification, if he or she wishes to express his or her dissent, which is his/her right," added Dhanani.

"In the existing provision, the police's role was that of an advocate who had to file charges and prove them regarding the notification issued by the magistrate. According to the amendment, the powers of a magistrate will be accorded to an advocate. I request the Home Minister not to go ahead with this amendment, which will blunt the sharpness of democracy of expression of dissent in the coming days," Dhanani said.