Mr. Hussain Imam has referred to Regulation III of 1818. I am sure he would realise that when the Britishers first came into this country and wanted to stabilise their Government here, in the very early stages of their occupation, they thought it necessary to have some legislative provision, some powers by which they could stop persons, potential mischief makers from doing any mischief to the State. Therefore, from their point of view, in the early days of the British Rule in this country, it was thought necessary that a legislative provision like Regulation III of 1818 should be provided to give the Executive certain powers to deal with mischief-mongers. Now, why does he apprehend that the Central Government, the Union Government which we are now going to set up under the New Constitution should abuse this power? I know no human agency, no human machinery is perfect. But you have to give the Central Government certain emergency powers which have got to be exercised by them in the interests of the Dominion itself. If there is an abuse as, my honourable friend apprehends, because Regulation III of 1818 in the later stages of the British Rule came in for a lot of abuse I know a lot of people were deported and civil liberties were suppressed-but now we have got our. own State, our own Government elected by the people With a President elected by the people and of the people, and besides, it must not be forgotten that in the Fundamental Rights we have provided a relief of Habeas Corpus. There is no danger of civil liberties being trampled under ruthlessly and carelessly as; it has been done in the past under the British Rule. If, for instance, in any part of the federation, in any territory, not necessarily in a province, in a Native State, some persons were found by the Government, on reliable information, out to create mischief that would not only be detrimental to the best interests of the Dominion, but to peace, do you think that the Government should sit Quiet and not move in the matter, simply because there has been no overt act on their behalf which would bring them under the clutches of the law ? There may be fifth columnists who may be secretly working in the Dominion itself, in any part of the territory; they may be in the pay of a foreign Government; they may even be in the pay of a rival Government of any Dominion Government in India. Therefore, in the present set-up of things, when we have within the geographical borders another independent State, it is all the more necessary that such a power should be provided in the constitution to be utilised by this Union Government when it thinks it necessary. It is quite possible in the scheme of things that one Native State may be conspiring against another and probably by no ordinary test, because of no overt acts; he could be brought under the clutches of law. If the Indian Government had reliable information that his activities were such that he would endanger the peace between two different parts of the Indian Territory itself. Certainly the Central Government must have power to intervene to stop that mischief-making.
