z:\ ambedkar\vol-02\vol2-03.indd MK SJ+YS 21-9-2013/YS-8-11-2013 150
150 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
instance of the gang which came down from Calcutta. There were 11 persons who had not committed an offence, but who were about to engage in certain unlawful activities. They had not been convicted in Calcutta in spite of the vigilance of the Police there. Some of them were persons who were—
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar: If the people have been committing offences in Calcutta, they would be habitual. It does not mean that one should habitually commit an offence in Bombay.
The Honourable Mr. K. M. Munshi: They were not convicted for carrying on unlawful activities.
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar: May I draw the attention of the Honourable Minister to the wording of my amendment? It is “; ............who is so desperate and dangerous as to render his being at large in the City hazardous .........” A member of a gang would come under this.
The Honourable Mr. K. M. Munshi: If the honourable member will have patience, I will tell him. The man may not be desperate as I gave you the Instance of the leader of the very coterie which I mentioned. He was perhaps moving there in Calcutta in a motor-car. He was a European and was accepted in good society in Bombay, but he was not a desperate character in the sense that he took a lathi and ran about in the streets.
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar: But the word dangerous is there.
The Honourable Mr. K. M. Munshi: Now, Sir, what is meant by the word “dangerous”—
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar: I have taken the words used in the section and I am sure they are perfectly intelligible words.
The Honourable Mr. K. M. Munshi: Sir, the words “dangerous and desperate” are intended for bullies who are running amok and threatening people or proving dangerous in the physical sense of the term. They would not apply to the head of a counterfeiting gang.
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar: But there is a separate chapter altogether which deals with that, namely, Chapter XVI of the Indian Penal Code, which I have omitted.
The Honourable Mr. K. M. Munshi: But you have stated “habitually engaged”.
Dr. B. R. Ambedkar: Sir, I may mention to the House that the words which I have now proposed will restrict the scope of the section only to the persons of a certain type and will not include the large number of cases of persons who would be included even by the present section as it stands.
The Honourable Mr. K. M. Munshi: Sir, as the honourable member himself has admitted that the words restrict the scope of the Bill, and if that is the case, there would be no meaning in having this Bill at all. If it is going to water down the section to such an extent, it becomes a useless weapon for the purpose for which it is designed. Therefore, it is not possible for me to accept the amendment.
The Honourable the Speaker: I have now to put the amendment and