Question

Who had proposed amendments in the PDPP Act, 1984?
A.Justice K.J Thomas Committee
B.Justice K.T Thomas Committee
C.David Thomson Committee
D.None of these

Answer 1

Hint: The Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act was enacted in 1984 that provides for legal punishment of anyone who destroys public property in cases of rioting, vandalism and arson. The provisions of the Act include up to five years in jail and a fine for any individual who has committed an act of mischief in respect of any public property. Even with guidelines of the Supreme Court, the implementation of the Act has not been efficient because the identification of protesters is difficult and even if an individual is identified, legal evidence is lacking in most cases.

Complete Step by Step answer: Let’s look at the options one by one :
Option A: is incorrect.
Option B: is correct. The Thomas Committee was constituted in 2007 under former Supreme Court judge K.T Thomas to make recommendations for amendments in the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act of 1984. The suggested recommendations of the Thomas Committee were to reverse the burden of proof against protesters and that the prosecution should be able to prove that public property had been damaged in direct action called by an organisation and the accused also participated in such direct action.
Options C and D: are incorrect.

Hence, The correct answer is Option B.

Note: Another committee that suggested recommendations to the Act was the Nariman Committee under senior advocate Fali Nariman. This committee recommended for extracting compensation for the damages caused to public property. The Supreme Court agreed to this recommendation and ordered the High Courts to direct Suo Motu action for an investigation into the damages.