‘Anti-national not defined in statutes’

What is the News?

The Ministry of Home Affairs has informed Parliament that there is no legal definition for the term “anti-national”.

What are the details provided by the Government on the term “Anti National”?

Definition of Anti National

The word ‘anti-national’ has not been defined in statutes.

But it is relevant to mention that the Constitution (Forty–Second Amendment) Act, 1976 inserted in the Constitution Article 31D (during Emergency) which defined ‘anti-national activity’.

However, Article 31D was subsequently omitted by the Constitution (Forty-third Amendment) Act, 1977.

Number of People arrested for indulging in Anti National Activities

​​‘Public Order’ and ‘Police’ are State subjects as per the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution.

Hence, the data about the number of people arrested for indulging in anti-national activities are not maintained centrally. The responsibility of maintaining law and order, including registration and prosecution of crimes, protection of life and property, rested with the State government.

NCRB Data on Anti National Elements

In 2019,  National Crime Records Bureau has released the annual ‘Crime in India’ report for 2017.

It included for the first time a chapter on ‘Crime Committed by Anti National Elements’. The chapter listed “North East insurgents, Left Wing Extremists and Terrorists (including Jihadi terrorists)” as the three anti-national elements.

Source: This post is based on the article ‘‘Anti-national not defined in statutes’’ published in The Hindu on 23rd Dec 2021.