Prevention of Terrorism Act and Gender

The case concerned a woman and a teenaged girl who were arrested following the bomb blasts in Mumbai on 28th July 2003 and 25th August, 2003 in which 53 people had died. Among the five persons who were arrested were the woman and her teenaged daughter. The media tried the two even before they were charged. From every Muslim man  being labeled as a ‘potential terrorist’, now every Muslim woman and even a child could be labeled as a `potential terrorist’. There were even baseless claims that the arrested persons - the men, the woman and the young minor girl – had ‘confessed’ that they have committed this to avenge the atrocities committed on Muslims in Gujarat. These supposedly confessional statements could be used against them during the trial under the draconian provisions of the anti-terrorist enactment, POTA (Prevention of Terrorist Activities Act). We were also perturbed by the precedent of charging a minor with the draconian law of POTA. In light of all this, we decided to intervene along with lawyers working on child rights issues. Our first step was to safeguard the rights of the minor girl in custodial situation. We also met the mother of the girl and made an application before the Juvenile Court seeking permission for the girl to meet her mother. We also simultaneously approached the Special Court judge dealing with POTA cases and obtained an order for the mother to meet her daughter every fortnight. After a few months, we were able to secure the discharge for the girl, as the police investigation did not yield any evidence against her. Yet prior to her discharge, the media coverage had already branded her as a `terrorist’. Her release, for lack of evidence, provided an opportunity to challenge the distorted images that the media creates. We are concerned with the stigma a minor accused in a crime faces, even after her discharge, due to the sensational media coverage. Along with intervening in the child’s case we also requested an experienced criminal lawyers of Mumbai to intervene on behalf of the mother and subsequently she was also discharged.