Question
GSHardPrelims 2023Indian Polity

Consider the following statements :

  1. According to the Constitution of India, the Central Government has a duty to protect States from internal disturbances.
  2. The Constitution of India exempts the States from providing legal counsel to a person being held for preventive detention.
  3. According to the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002, confession of the accused before the police cannot be used as evidence.

How many of the above statements are correct?

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct: Article 355 provides that it is the duty of the Union to protect every State against external aggression and internal disturbance and to ensure that the government of every State is carried on in accordance with the Constitution.

Statement 2 is correct: Article 22(1) provides an arrested person the right to consult and be defended by a legal practitioner of their choice. However, Article 22(3)(b) expressly provides that the safeguards contained in clauses (1) and (2) do not apply to a person arrested or detained under a law providing for preventive detention. Therefore, the Constitution exempts preventive detainees from the protection under Article 22(1) concerning legal counsel. This does not mean that the Constitution prohibits legal assistance from being provided through other legal mechanisms.

Statement 3 is incorrect: Section 32 of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002 (POTA) permitted, subject to statutory safeguards, a confession made before a police officer not below the rank of Superintendent of Police to be admissible in the trial. Therefore, the assertion that such a confession could not be used as evidence is incorrect.

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