New Delhi: Government told the Supreme Court on April 8 that adequate safeguards had been provided under POTA (Prevention of Terrorism Act) and sought to clarify that a person arrested under it could apply for bail even before completing a year in jail.

“The Centre's stand regarding bail under POTA is that an application can be filed by an accused even before the expiry of one year," Attorney General Soli Sorabjee told a Bench comprising Justice S Rajendra Babu and Justice G P Mathur.

The brief clarification came during arguments on petitions challenging the Constitutional validity of POTA when People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) counsel Rajendra Sachar submitted before the Bench, that bail provision under the Act was very harsh and an accused could approach the designated court for bail only a year after his arrest.

PTI