The Madras High Court on Monday directed the Home Secretary to provide an “effective response” by March 30 on the possibility of enacting a special law, on the lines of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act of 1999, to deal with “paid mercenaries” engaged for committing gruesome crimes.
Justices N. Kirubakaran and R. Hemalatha issued the direction, while hearing a habeas corpus petition related to the preventive detention of a person involved in a clash between rowdy gangs. The judges were of the view that a stringent law would help the police to act tough against hired killers.
During the course of hearing, the senior judge in the Bench told a government counsel that there was indeed a proposal in 2010 to enact a law in the State to control organised crimes. He wanted to know what had happened to that proposal and whether the government was shying away from enacting such a law.
“If you are afraid that if such a law is passed, it would amount to admitting the existence of rowdy gangs in the State, then such attitude is wrong. You must admit if there is a problem and try to address it. Paid killers are indeed on the prowl in the State. They are being engaged for settling every other dispute.
“Called as ‘Kooli Padai’ in Tamil, they are being engaged to settle land grabbing issues, other civil disputes and even for honour killings. The Udumalpet Shankar case is a classic example. These gangs have political, religious and communal backing and they easily escape. This shouldn’t happen,” he said.
Later, in its interim order, the Bench said it would be constrained to summon the Home Secretary and Director-General of Police if a satisfactory answer with regard to the enactment of the law, to control organised crimes, was not placed before the court during the next hearing of the case.
