https://cjp.org.in/dissent-note-the-alarming-scope-of-maharashtras-special-public-safety-bill-2024/
Key concerns raised by opposition members, civil society, and constitutional experts have been ignored or side-stepped. The Joint Committee has made only three formal amendments to the earlier format of the MSPS bill, which are:
Rewording the objective clause to target “radical Left-wing organisations or similar organisations”;
Recasting the composition of the Advisory Board;
Raising the investigating officer’s rank from Sub-Inspector to Deputy Superintendent of Police.
The final bill still:
Grants the executive the power to brand organisations as “unlawful” without fair process;
Criminalises routine dissent under vague definitions of “unlawful activity”;
Enables property seizure, eviction, and financial ruin through non-judicial mechanisms;
Excludes lower courts from jurisdiction, effectively cutting off accessible judicial remedies;
Provides blanket immunity to state officials acting “in good faith”;
Lays the ground for an ideologically driven crackdown on opposition groups, activists, and movements.