Congress leader Govind Singh files petition before High Court against alleged misuse of MP Dakaiti Aur Vyapharan Prabhavit Kshetra Adhiniyam

Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh) [India], September 3 (ANI): Senior Congress leader and former minister Govind Singh has filed a petition before the Gwalior Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court seeking to stop the alleged misuse of the MP Dakaiti Aur Vyapharan Prabhavit Kshetra Adhiniyam (Dacoity-Affected Areas Act).
Counsel for the petitioner, Advocate Rajeev Sharma, speaking to ANI, said the petition has been filed on the basis of the Madhya Pradesh government’s statement in the Assembly that the state is no longer a dacoity-affected area and that there are no dacoits in the state.
“The petition was filed by former minister Govind Singh to curb the misuse of the Dacoity Affected Areas Act. The plea is grounded on the fact that the state government stated in the Legislative Assembly that no area in Madhya Pradesh is dacoity-affected and that there are no active dacoits remaining in the state. Since there are no dacoits, the provisions related to the Dacoity Act should not apply; this is our primary demand. Therefore, the Dacoity Act holds no relevance at present, and we seek that it be declared unconstitutional,” Sharma said. 
The advocate said that the petition was accepted and the matter is likely to be heard in the next week. 
He further explained that the provisions of the Act were used in districts including Bhind, Morena, Gwalior, Shivpuri, Sheopur, Datia, along with some areas in Satna and Rewa. 
“We have made the Director General of Police (DGP), the Principal Secretary (Home), and the Superintendents of Police of all the concerned districts as respondents in the matter. These provisions are still being used to implicate innocent people and register false cases; we have filed this petition to stop this misuse and seek the abolition of the law,” he added. (ANI)