[Commons-Law] Googling the 'Goonda Act'

[Lawrence Liang]

Hi Anand

Also have a look at Vivek Dhareshwar and R Srivatsa on Rowdysheeters in
Sublatern studies Vol. IX which has an interesting take on the  at the
figure of the rowdy sheeter


Lawrence

On 4/8/05 4:15 PM, "Anand V. Taneja" <anand at sarai.net> wrote:

> dear all,
> On Monday, while scanning through Screen, I came across the following
> article.
> 
> CCCA threatens indefinite theatre strike
> Thursday, April 07, 2005
> http://www.screenindia.com/print.php?content_id=10109
> 
> 'Santosh Singh Jain, President of the Central Circuit Cine
> Association, has expressed anguish over the failure to curb piracy in
> the said territory rising from the inability to force the provisions
> of the Copyright Act, 1957 and Cable Television Networks Regulation
> Act and its rules.
> 'This has resulted in the illegal exhibition of latest releases on
> cable in defiance of rule no. 6 and sub rule no. 3 notified by the
> Union government's Information & Broadcasting Ministry on September 8.
> Under this newly inserted rule, no cable operator and service provider
> can exhibit any programme including films without obtaining written
> consent from the copyright owner. Jain has threatened that 1,800-2,000
> theatres in the Central Circuit will go on indefinite strike if the
> state government fails to take immediate steps akin to the action
> taken by the Tamil Nadu government by enforcing the Goonda Act against
> film pirates.'
> 
> What interested me was the familarity with the 'law', or at least,
> with legalese) reflected in this following statement. ('defiance of
> rule no. 6 and sub rule no. 3 notified by the Union government's
> Information & Broadcasting Ministry on September 8.')  What was more
> interesting was the Goonda Act, which I hadn't heard of before. So I
> googled 'Goonda Act', and to my surprise the first thing I Got was,
> 
> 'Seer fears arrest under Goonda Act'
> http://in.rediff.com/news/2005/jan/13kanchi2.htm
> Speaking exclusively to rediff.com on Thursday, the pontiff's lawyer,
> M N Krishnamani, said: "We simply fail to understand [Tamil Nadu] CM
> Jayalalithaa. Now, we have been told that the seer will be arrested
> under the Goonda Act, which is just as stringent as POTA [Prevention
> of Terrorism Act] was."
> 
> A law as stringent as POTA. And later I read Coomi Kapoor in the
> Indian Express who informs us that -
> 
> Indian Express
> Sunday, December 12, 2004
> http://www.indianexpress.com/columnists/full_column.php?content_id=60665
> 'Jayalalithaa has become the heroine of the film world with both
> southern superstars, Rajnikant and Kamal Hasan, hailing her at a
> function in her honour after she clamped down on video piracy. Those
> caught for video piracy in Tamil Nadu are now booked under the Goonda
> Act which is a non-bailable offence.'
> 
> 
> A law as stringent as POTA. Also used to arrest those suspected of
> murder. And a non bailable offence. Now I don't know law at all, but
> this all sound rather dire.
> 
> Further googling got me the following articles, indicating, along with
> the initial piece from Screen, a sort of ripple effect, a desire to
> emulate similar laws in the neigbouring states of Karnataka, Kerala,
> Andhra Pradesh by those involved in the film trade. And of course, in
> the Central Circiut, as Screen informs us ­
> 
> Film piracy may come under Goonda act
> http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/mar112005/c2.asp
> Friday, March 11, 2005
> 'The State government is likely to bring video and audio cassette
> piracy under the purview of Goonda Act, on the lines of neighbouring
> Tamil Nadu, Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) President H D
> Gangaraj announced on Thursday.
> 
> 'Speaking to reporters in Bangalore, he said that the increase in the
> number of video and audio piracy cases has been a cause for concern
> for the entire film industry. Due to piracy, producers and
> distributors are incurring a huge loss, he added.'
> 
> 
> Malayalam film industry's tragedy script continues
> IndiaGlitz
> Tuesday, December 28, 2004
> http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/malayalam/article/12337.html
> 'The prime reason the industry is heading towards disaster is video
> piracy, which has taken a huge toll on its profitability.
> "By the time a new release arrives at the theatres, the video CDs of
> the film would also have reached vendors. Look at Tamil Nadu, they
> included video piracy under the Goonda Act three months back and
> people are now flocking to the theatres," Unni said.
> "During Diwali in Tamil Nadu, several new films could not be released
> because old ones continued to run strong in the theatres making them
> unavailable for releases," he said.'
> 
> Telugu film industry to set up monitoring cells to curb piracy
> The Hindu Business Line, Wednesday, Sep 29,2004
> http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2004/09/29/stories/2004092902631700.htm
> 'Mr G. Adiseshagiri Rao, President of AP Film Chamber of Commerce, told
> Business Line that the Chamber would study the Tamil Nadu's latest
> move to curb the piracy menace.
> The Tamil Nadu Government had decided to bring piracy into the ambit
> of Goonda Act. "We will study it and see what we can emulate from it,"
> he said.
> "Even the Union Government has agreed to help out, the Minister for
> Information and Broadcasting, Mr S. Jaipal Reddy, said the Government
> would bring out an amendment to the Copy Rights Act to slap stringent
> punishments on the offenders," he said.'
> 
> 
> Looked at  one way, it is as if Tamil Nadu is an epicentre from where
> waves of approval/demand for this law are radiating outwards ­ from the
> Southern states to the Central Circuit ­ at least among those who
> exhibit/produce/ distribute films. Aarti has asked us recently, how does
> the law circulate? And this 'demand' for the law is an interesting example
> of circulation, wishing for a provision of law to exist, where it doesn't.
> This seems particularly interesting in the case of the demand from the
> Central Circuit Cine Association, and its very legalistsic demand. For,
> according to my limited knowledge, the Goonda Act is not in force in the
> territories of the Central Circuit.
> 
> Dealing with goons -- surface level and source level
> http://groups.msn.com/BABUBHASKAR/gulftoday1.msnw
> GULF TODAY, December 25, 2003
> 
> 'The Pocket Oxford Dictionary of Current English gives two meanings for
> the word "goon:" stupid person; hired ruffian. It categorises the word as
> slang and indicates that it is of uncertain origin. Actually it is one of
> the many Indian words that crept into the English language during the days
> of the Raj. It is a modified form of the Hindi term "goonda," which means
> gangster. This term and a derivative "goondaism" are widely used in Indian
> English. They figure regularly in the local media.
> Goondas have been in the news continuously in Kerala in the recent past as
> they are active in many cities. They [the police] want the state to enact
> a law on the lines of the Goonda Act in force in the states of Tamil Nadu,
> Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal. The Act empowers the police to extern
> goondas from the cities. Last week Chief Minister AK Antony, yielding to
> pressure from the police, announced the government's willingness to enact
> a Goonda Act. The Goonda Act, as it exists in other states, is
> specifically directed against organised urban crime. It allows the city
> police to proclaim a habitual offender a goonda and order him out of the
> city for a specified period.'
> 
> 
> Even if the Goonda Act is not in force in states apart from Tamil nadu,
> Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, it cerntianly has an imaginative reach
> over a wider swathe. I am thinking here of the term 'Tadipaar' (as in the
> title of the 1993 Mithun Chakraborty film). The word Tadipaar specifically
> connotes those who have been extradited outside city limits.  A word which
> cannot exist without the existence of the law in public consciousness. I
> am sure there are earlier histories of the law which I will be very glad
> if people  on the list will expand on.
> 
> But what is the imagination of the goonda, for which the law is
> formulated? I return here to writings on the extended Shankracharya/
> Sankaraman murder case, which is a really strange parralel to the video
> pirates ­ both in terms of the chronology, and the perhaps  extreme
> extension of the law.
> 
> 
> Seer case: TN violated SC directive on Goonda Act
> http://news.indiainfo.com/2005/02/17/1702seeract.html
> Thursday, February 17 2005
> 'the detention of Kanchi Mutt Manager Sundaresa Iyer and Raghu, brother of
> junior Shankaracharya Vijayendra Saraswathi, both accused in the
> Sankararaman murder case under the Goondas Act appears to be a clear
> violation of a Tamil Nadu Government's recent directive on detentions
> under the stringent law.
> The circuclar had been issued in the light of observations made by the
> Supreme Court which held in a case that, a solitary instance of robbery,
> as mentioned in the grounds for detention under the Goondas Act in a
> criminal case, was not relevant for sustaining the order of detention for
> the purpose of preventing the persons from acting in a manner prejudicial
> to the maintenance of public order, an official said on condition of
> anonimity.
> The circular also gave a defenition of Goondas Act which said, "Goonda
> means a person, who either by himself or as a member of or leader of a
> gang, habitually commits or attempts to commit or abets the commission of
> offences, punishable under some sections of IPC including intimidation,
> robbery and annoyance.²
> 
> 
> The Hindu, perhaps noticing the prevalence of the term Goonda in much
> statist and media discourse, also asked the question, ³Who is a Goonda?²
> 
> Get to know the goonda, here and now
> Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
> Wednesday, Feb 02, 2005
> http://www.blonnet.com/2005/02/02/stories/2005020200272000.htm
> The common man is obviously in a hurry to get to know the goonda. And an
> indication of his ubiquitous curiosity has been showing in my inbox with
> strange `subject' lines such as, `goonda who,' and `help with goonda,'
> though I've been shift-deleting these mails as spam. In atonement,
> therefore, here is some guidance on the subject.
> Who is a goonda?
> Goonda means a person, who either by himself or as a member of or leader
> of a gang, habitually commits or attempts to commit or abets the
> commission of offences, punishable under Chapter XVI or Chapter XVII or
> Chapter XXII of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860.
> Is there a Goonda Act?
> In fact, the legislation has a long name: "The Tamil Nadu Prevention of
> Dangerous Activities of Bootleggers, Drug-offenders, Forest-offenders,
> Goondas, Immoral Traffic Offenders, Slum-grabbers and Video Pirates Act,
> 1982." However, it's common to use the shorthand `Goondas Act' in news
> bulletins, so as not to offend listeners' interest. Goonda Acts, as listed
> in the IPC's chapters, include `offences against the human body' such as
> murder, `offences against property' such as dacoity, and `criminal
> intimidation, insult and annoyance.'
> 
> 
> Till the amendment, announced last September, the act actually read, ³The
> Tamil Nadu Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Bootleggers,
> Drug-offenders, Forest-offenders, Goondas, Immoral Traffic Offenders,
> Slum-grabbers Act, 1982.² Pretty tough on your friendly neigbourhood video
> pirate, no?
> 
> Perhaps as an aside, I want to mention other categories who have come
> under the Goondas Act -
> VIII. THE CRIMINALIZATION OF SOCIAL ACTIVISM
> Human Rights Watch
> http://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/india/India994-10.htm
> According to a Dalit activist working in Tirunelveli and Tuticorin
> districts, Tamil Nadu, many ³young, educated youths² were also detained
> under the Tamil Nadu Goondas Act during the southern district clashes in
> 1997.254 A goonda is defined as a habitual criminal, usually associated
> with a criminal gang.
> 
> According to the Policy Notes of the Prohibition and Excise Department,
> Tamil Nadu Government, Video Piracy was put into the Goondas Act, because
> it is an act prejudicial to the maintanence of public law and order(?) It
> would be interesting to see the arguments that are marshalled by the state
> in support of this. This could be an interesting extension of Mayur's
> work. Also, it would be interesting to compare the debates around public
> law and order with regards to the cinema, in the 'defence 'of which  this
> amendment was passed. I am thinking here of the work of SV Srinivas ­ 'Is
> there a public in the cinema hall?'
> 
> 
> Government of Tamil Nadu
> Prohibition and Excise Department
> Policy Note, 2005-2006
> http://www.tn.gov.in/policynotes/prohibition_excise.htm
> 7. PREVENTION OF VIDEO PIRACY
> Video piracy is an act prejudicial to the maintenance of public law and
> order. Due to this video piracy, the film industry has been facing severe
> crisis and the Producers, Distributors and Theatre owners have been put to
> loss of revenue. Representatives from various associations have pleaded
> for the eradication of this menace, and requested to put the film industry
> on the revival path. The Hon¹ble Chief Minister ordered to amend the Tamil
> Nadu Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Bootleggers, Drug-offenders,
> Forest-offenders, Goondas, Immoral Traffic Offenders and Slum-grabbers
> Act, 1982 (Tamil Nadu Act 14 of 1982) to detain the video pirates under
> the said Act with a view to preventing them from acting in any manner
> prejudicial to the maintenance of public order. This Act came into force
> from 1st October 2004.
> 
> TN announces sops for film industry
> The Hindu, Tuesday, Sep 28, 2004
> http://www.blonnet.com/2004/09/28/stories/2004092801941700.htm
> THE Tamil Nadu Government has announced a package of measures supporting
> the film industry, including tightening of legislations to prevent piracy
> and tax concessions and subsidies.
> According to an official statement, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Ms
> Jayalalithaa, said that the Government would amend the Tamil Nadu
> prevention of dangerous activities of bootleggers, drug offenders, forest
> offenders, goondas, immoral traffic offenders and slum grabbers Act, 1982
> (Tamil Nadu Act of 14 of 1982) to include video pirates.
> The Government would also stringently enforce the Copyright Act, 1957 (Act
> 14 of 1957 - Central Act). This provides for penalties including
> imprisonment up to three years and a fine of up to Rs 2 lakh.
> The video piracy cell would also be strengthened and six more cells would
> be added to the existing six cells, the statement said.
> While ensuring that pirated video films are not exhibited in State-owned
> transport buses, the private operators have also been given strict
> instructions to not to exhibit such cassettes.
> The Tamil Nadu Exhibition of films on television screen through video
> cassette recorders and cable television network (Regulation) Act, 1984
> (Tamil Nadu Act 7 of 1984) would also be amended to make penalties more
> stringent including providing for imprisonment up to two years and fine of
> a minimum of Rs 1 lakh.
> Entertainment tax applicable to Municipal Corporation areas and Special
> Grade Municipalities will be brought down to 15 per cent from 25 per cent
> of gross payment for new films and 10 per cent for old films, which were
> earlier subject to 20 per cent. This will also be applicable to permanent
> and semi-permanent theatres within a radius of 5 km.
> In other areas where the tax is levied on a compounding basis per show or
> week, a simple system of 10 per cent on gross payment would be introduced.
> To protect the revenue of the local bodies, which receive 90 per cent of
> the revenue from entertainment tax, an alternative compensation
> arrangement will be made, the statement said.
> Low budget films with "good themes useful for social mobilisation and
> propagating good values" will qualify for entertainment tax exemption.
> Cinemas can now collect maintenance charges of 50 paise for non-air
> conditioned halls and Re 1 for air-conditioned ones.
> The Government has granted three-year exemption from sales tax on lease
> transactions of outdoor units, equipment hirers, studios, laboratories,
> recording theatres, audio, video and satellite rights, which now attract
> 12 per cent. It has also decided to withdraw penal action to recover sales
> tax on such leases.
> Rates for shooting films in various locations have also been slashed. For
> Category-I locations such as colleges, sanctuaries and Kodaikanal and Ooty
> lakes the charge will be cut to Rs 10,000 a day from Rs 50,000, and for
> shooting at Rajaji Hall (in Chennai) the fee will be Rs 25,000 against Rs
> 1 lakh charged earlier.
> For Category-II locations, which include other public places, the charge
> will be Rs 5,000 a day against Rs 25,000.
> The State Government has also decided to grant a subsidy of Rs 7 lakh to
> low-budget films with a maximum of 25 prints and length of up to 3,000
> metres. To be introduced with effect from 2003, the scheme will be
> implemented at an annual cost of Rs 2 crore, the statement said.'
> 
> 
> Now it seems a bit extreme to book someone under the Goonda Act for
> showing films on a video coach. Lawrence has just written in to Ritika
> (forwarded on to the PPHP list) to say that this amendment is currently
> being challenged because the State government does not have the power to
> act on a Central subject, ie The Copyright Act(?) Now, I may have got the
> details of that wrong, but it certianly seems that the legality of the
> amendment is currently being challenged. But the legality nonwithstanding,
> the act of announcing the Goonda Act seems to have had immediate
> repurcussions in Tamil Nadu, as well as ripples of approval outside the
> state.  Prior to 'legality'. Prior even, it seems, to enforcement.
> 
> Video pirates vanishing
> Almost all video/CD parlours in the city have closed down since their
> business was thriving mainly on pirated copies of movies. As there are no
> takers for pirated CDs of latest movies, the CD-writing concept has also
> become defunct, says S. Vijay Kumar.
> http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=2004101614200300.htm&
> date=2004/10/16/&prd=th&
> EVEN BEFORE the police started enforcing the amended laws to curb video
> piracy, the clandestine activities of pirates, flourishing in the city for
> decades, have suddenly vanished.
> Video parlours and compact disc shops downed shutters hours after the
> Tamil Nadu Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Bootleggers, Drug
> Offenders, Forest Offenders, Goondas, Immoral Traffic Offenders and
> Slum-Grabbers Act, 1982, was amended enabling the law enforcing agencies
> to detain video pirates.
> Thousands of youth involved in the CD writing business at undisclosed
> centres have closed down. Omni bus/van operators have switched off
> television sets since the amendments to the Tamil Nadu Exhibition of Films
> on Television Screen through Video Cassette Recorders and Cable Television
> Network (Regulation) Act, 1984, now provides for punishment with an
> imprisonment up to two years or fine which shall not be less than Rs. one
> lakh but which may be extended to Rs.five lakhs or with both.
> Almost all video/CD parlours in the city have closed down since their
> business was thriving mainly on pirated copies of movies. As there are no
> takers for pirated CDs of latest movies, the CD-writing concept has also
> become defunct.
> According to the Inspector (Video Piracy), M.S.M. Abdul Rahim, Madurai was
> the gateway for the circulation of pirated CDs to the southern districts.
> The Meenakshi and Pondy Bazaar localities, which were notorious for the
> sale of such CDs, had quit business. "We have plugged all gaps. The video
> pirates know that the new law is severe and habitual offenders can also
> been detained under the Goondas Act," he says.
> Though the "master prints" of pirated versions originally came from
> Chennai, hundreds of illegal operators made copies of such CDs. "It just
> needs a computer, CD-writer and a few gadgets to make these pirated CDs.
> The cost of production per CD would be sometimes less than Rs. 15," Mr.
> Rahim says, adding that an elaborate plan had been chalked out to prevent
> the video piracy industry from resurfacing.
> Interestingly, the number of movie-goers is said to have gone up since
> early October. The collection for movies such as `Vasool Raja', `Gajendra'
> and `M. Kumaran son of Mahalakshmi', have gone up after a brief slump, say
> cinema theatre owners.
> However, police officials say video piracy cannot sustain without the
> connivance of some persons in the film industry. "The original print has
> to either come from the movie halls or laboratories. Some producers even
> sell copyrights to foreign dealers to double their profits. However, it
> boomerangs since the pirated versions land in the State hours later," says
> another police official.'
> 
> 
> I am left finally with a set of images, all of which seem to be linked
> with the Goonda Act.
> The first is of Rajnikanth and Kamal Haasan congratulating Jayalalitha. I
> am remembering Rajnikanth's copyrighting/patenting(?) of his own actions
> after the release of Baba. Wasn't Baba a 'political' film specifically
> against Jayalalitha? (I may be completely mistaken about this.) Why is it
> that the whole anxiety about copyright and piracy is playing out in such
> an extreme fashion in Tamil Nadu rather than anywhere else? (Is it becuase
> the state is ruled by a former film-star?)
> Then the arrest of the Shankracharya and the whole sordid mess that
> follows. then the killing of Veerapan. All linked now with the ubiquitous
> Goonda Act. As is the figure of the Tadipaar ­ exiled from his own city.
> And the figure of the video 'pirate'.
> 
> There are linkages here that i don't want to draw. I am hoping someone
> else will draw completely different ones, and clarify some of the
> confusions I have about the Goonda Act.