In the ongoing issue of Jurisdiction of the BSF in State of West Bengal, Assam and Punjab, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs supported its decision to extend the jurisdiction of the Border Security Force in the aforesaid states on the grounds that it is important for dealing with emerging threats of cattle smuggling and drones for the security of the State. It is to be noted that the Calcutta High Court recently issued notice on a Public Interest Litigation petition challenging the Central government's power to decide the jurisdiction of the Border Security Force (BSF). The petition challenged Section 139(1) of the Border Security Force Act, 1968 (BSF Act) for being ultra vires to the Constitution to the extent that it provides 'unbridled, unrestricted and arbitrary powers to the Central government for fixing the territorial jurisdiction of the BSF.
Certain Highlights
The recent notification of the Home Ministry dated 11.10.2021 amended the 2014 notification and extended the jurisdiction of the BSF up to 50 km inside the international borders in Punjab, West Bengal, and Assam.
In the aforesaid states, the BSF's Jurisdiction was limited to up to 15 km. The jurisdictional limit with respect to the state of Gujarat has been reduced from 80 km to 50 km.
Notification notified that the extension in the territorial jurisdiction of BSF in some States aimed at empowering BSF to discharge its border guarding duties more effectively in the wake of the use of technology like Dynamic Remotely Operated Navigation Equipment (Drones), Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAVs), etc. generally having long-range, by anti-national forces for surveillance as well as for smuggling of arms, narcotics and fake Indian currency notes (FICN). It would also help in curbing the menace of cattle smuggling as smugglers take refuge in the interior areas outside the jurisdiction of BSF.
The Ministry brought to the notice of the Lok Sabha that as per the requirement u/s 139(3) of BSF Act, 1968, these notifications have been laid on the table of the Lok Sabha on November 30, 2021, and these notifications would be laid on the table of the Rajya Sabha on the day it is included in the list of business.
The West Bengal Legislative Assembly passed a resolution on November 16 demanding the withdrawal of the notification issued by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs extending the territorial jurisdiction of the BSF and PIL is already filed in Calcutta HC challenging the Constitutionality of section 139 of the BSF Act.
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