The Union Cabinet on Monday is likely to clear a majority of bills, which will be introduced in the Parliament session.
According to sources, these include bills to amend the NIA Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act besides the Consumer Protection Bill, Motor Vehicles Amendment Bill and amendments to the Representation of the People Act, which will extend the facility of ‘proxy voting’ to overseas Indians on the lines of service voters.
Moreover, Union Home Minister Amit Shah will table the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha today. This will be the first legislative business of the BJP president in parliament after his election to the Lower House.
Cabinet approves amendments to two laws to strengthen NIA
The Union Cabinet has approved a proposal to amend two laws to give more teeth to the NIA in probing terror cases in India and abroad.
Separate bills will be introduced in Parliament in the coming days to amend the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
The amendments will also allow the NIA probe cybercrimes and cases of human trafficking, sources aware of the proposal said.
ABOUT NIA
The NIA was set up in 2009 in the wake of the Mumbai terror attack that had claimed 166 lives.
Since 2017, the Union Home Ministry has been considering the two laws to give more power to the NIA to meet fresh challenges, the sources pointed out.
A meeting of the Union Cabinet and the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also scheduled to be conducted in Parliament Annexe New Building today.
Also, the DNA Technology Regulation Bill, which seeks to control the use of DNA technology for establishing the identity of a person, is likely to come up before the Cabinet on Monday.
The bill was passed in the Lok Sabha in January, but lapsed as it could not be cleared in the Rajya Sabha due to lack of support from the opposition.
Following the clearance from the Cabinet, the bill is likely to be reintroduced in Parliament for passage.
The legislation seeks to establish a National DNA Data Bank and Regional DNA Data Banks.
The bill envisages that every data bank will maintain indices like the crime scene index, suspects' or undertrials' index, offenders' index, missing persons' index and unknown deceased persons' index.
The legislation also seeks to establish a DNA Regulatory Board. Every laboratory that analyses DNA samples to establish the identity of an individual, has to be accredited by the board.
Under the bill, a written consent by individuals is required to collect DNA samples from them. Consent is not required for offences with punishment of more than seven years of imprisonment or death.
It also provides for the removal of DNA profiles of suspects on filing of a police report or court order, and of undertrials on the basis of a court order. Profiles in the crime scene and missing persons' index will be removed on a written request.
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