India, July 12 -- At an event to mark the 19th anniversary of a series of bomb blasts on local trains in the city, popularly known as the 7/11 blasts, senior advocate Mihir Desai on Friday questioned the motive of the state government after the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly passed the Maharashtra Special Public Security Bill on Thursday, and said the main intent behind it was to crush dissent.

"Laws like the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) already have provisions to ban an organisation. So what was the need for a new law," Desai, who practises in the Bombay high court, asked.

Organisations like the Popular Front of India (PFI) and the Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) had been banned under the UAPA in the past, h...