Gujarat assembly on Friday passed a Gujarat Special Courts Bill, 2024 that paves the way for setting up special courts to crack down on disproportionate assets of government employees, bootleggers, GST scamsters, land mafia, drug mafia and even elected representatives.
Minister of state for home Harsh Sanghavi said under the new law the prescribed prison term exceeded three years and DAs amounted to more than Rs 1 crore.
According to the Bill, accumulation of property through unlawful means and then using such property to expand criminal activities called for setting up of special courts for expeditious confiscation of properties identified with the criminal case.
An IO will make an application to an authorised officer, who will be a retired additional session judge of the special court. After due process of issuing notices and conducting a hearing, the court will empower state to confiscate property acquired through illegal means.
The person in question can file an appeal in the HC within 30 days of the order. The property will be returned to the person if the confiscation order is annulled by the HC in an appeal or if the affected person is acquitted by the special court.
“If the accused is acquitted in the case, he can get back the confiscated property or cash with interest at 5 per cent per annum if the property was sold,” said Sanghavi.
The new law authorises the state to use ‘force’ to take possession of the property if the person concerned fails to comply with the confiscation order. It proposes the confiscation proceedings to be disposed of within six months of the issue of notice.
Further, the legislation adds that if the affected person is residing at the property to be confiscated, the authorised officer can allow him/her to occupy it for a limited period on the payment of market rent to the state government.
