Delhi placed under National Security Act for 3 months amid CAA protests

New Delhi: In the wake of protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Lieutenant governor of Delhi passed the order authorizing police to place the city under the National Security Act (NSA) for three months.

The Act allows police to detain a person for months if it feels that he/ she is a threat to national security. The individual also need not be informed of the charges for 10 days.

While the Union home ministry has downplayed the situation, a senior Central government official said that it was "a routine affair and the notification was renewed from time to time."

"In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (3) of section 3, read with clause (c) of Section 2 of the National Security Act, 1980, the Lt Governor pleased to direct that during the period January 19 to April 18, the Delhi Police Commissioner may also exercise the powers of detaining authority under sub-section (2) of section 3 of the aforesaid Act," the notification stated. In August 2019, the NSA was extended to Jammu and Kashmir following the abrogation of Article 370 and the bifurcation of the erstwhile state, giving armed forces in the valley to detain a person on grounds of threat to national security.