Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act: India
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Arrests, convictions under UAPA
2016-19
February 11, 2021: The Times of India
As many as 96 people were arrested under the sedition law in 2019, though only two were convicted and 29 acquitted in the same period, the home ministry informed the Rajya Sabha, citing the latest NCRB data on Crime in India.
The same NCRB report states that 5,922 people were arrested under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) between 2016 and 2019, though the number of people convicted under the Act during this four-year period was just 132, the ministry said in reply to a different question in the Rajya Sabha.
Asked via a written query in the House if any steps were taken to strengthen the sedition law in view of the courts freeing those arrested under the “weak” law, junior home minister G Kishan Reddy replied that “amendments of laws is an ongoing process”.
In reply to another question on arrests under UAPA, Reddy said 1,948 people were held under the law in 2019, as per NCRB data.
Court judgements
‘Civil disturbance can’t be UAPA offence’: HC/ 2021
Prabin Kalita, April 14, 2021: The Times of India
Stating that someone accused of civil disturbance can’t be booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act unless it qualifies to be an act of terror, the Gauhati high court has upheld the bail granted by a special NIA court to jailed activist-turned-politician Akhil Gogoi. The special court had given bail to Gogoi, who was booked under the stringent law for his anti-CAA speeches in 2019 on October 1 last year.
“The dominant intention of the wrongdoer must be to commit a ‘terrorist act’ coming within the ambit of Section 15(1) of the Act… What, therefore, follows is that unlawful act of any other nature, including acts of arson and violence aimed at creating civil disturbance and law and order problems, which may be punishable under the ordinary law, would not come within the purview of Section 15(1) of the Act of 1976 unless it is committed with the requisite intention,” the bench said.
The lower court had granted Gogoi bail after observing that the allegations brought by the agency could not, prima facie, said to be a terrorist act perpetrated with the intention of threatening the unity, integrity and sovereignty of India or to strike terror among the people.
No error in granting bail to Akhil: HC
The NIA subsequently challenged the bail order in the high court.
While even spoken words, including provocative speeches, can be construed as unlawful activity under Section 2(1) (0) of the1967 legislation, “the same must be done with the intention to cause death of, or injuries to any person or persons, or to cause loss of or damage to or destruction of any property aimed at disturbing the unity, integrity, security and sovereignty of the country”, the HC bench said.
The basic allegations levelled by the NIA in its chargesheet are that Gogoi made provocative speeches, inciting the public to resort to violence and draw up a plan to set fire to houses belonging to people from the Bengali community living in the Amrawati Colony at Chabua in Dibrugarh district.
“We are of the considered opinion that the views expressed by the learned Special Court, NIA, leading to granting of bail to the respondent is a possible view in the facts and circumstances of the case. Therefore, we do not find any error in the approach of the learned court below while exercising discretionary jurisdiction and granting bail to the respondent,” the bench said.
Gogoi, who is contesting the Sivasagar assembly seat this election, was taken into preventive custody by police on December 12, 2019 as protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill raged in the state, resulting in violence at several places. The case was transferred to the NIA two days later. He has been in judicial custody since.
The dominant intention of the wrongdoer must be to commit a ‘terrorist act’… What, therefore, follows is that unlawful act of any other nature, including acts of arson and violence aimed at creating civil disturbance and law & order problems, which may be punishable under the ordinary law, would not come within the purview of Section 15(1) of the Act unless committed with the requisite intention —Gauhati HC The basic allegations levelled by the NIA are that Akhil Gogoi made provocative speeches, inciting the public to resort to violence and draw up a plan to set fire to houses belonging to people from the Bengali community
Seizures under UAPA
2014
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Graphic courtesy: The Times of India
See graphic:
Currency seized or recovered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 2014
Amendment to UAPA
2019
August 3, 2019: The Times of India
Cong finally votes with govt, amended terror law passed
New Delhi:
Parliament passed the amended UAPA bill, which provides for proscribing individuals involved in terror crimes as terrorists, after a sharp debate which saw home minister Amit Shah clash with opposition leaders P Chidambaram and Digvijaya Singh.
The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment bill, 2019, was passed with 147 ‘ayes’ against 42 ‘noes’, with Congress finally voting in favour of the bill notwithstanding its opposition to what it said was a vague provision for proscribing an individual whom the Centre holds to be a terrorist. Other parties who voted with the government included TRS, BJD, TDP and AIADMK.
The parties that voted against the bill included Trinamool, CPM, CPI, DMK, RJD, SP, NCP, PDP and IUML. Their reservations primarily pertained to blacklisting of individual terror suspects and the “anti-federal” provision seeking to empower the National Investigation Agency DG to seize properties linked to terrorism without prior consent of the state police chief. They also cited the low conviction rate in UAPA cases.
Congress voted for the bill after supporting a demand to send the bill to the select committee, which was rejected by the House by 104 to 85 votes.
Shah slammed the “low conviction rate” argument and said it was based on the combined investigation and prosecution record of state governments and the NIA. Of the 278 cases registered by the NIA under UAPA, chargesheets were filed in 204. Of the 54 cases where courts passed judgment, 48 resulted in convictions — a conviction rate of 91%, which Shah said was “the best in the world”.
Earlier, Chidambaram said Congress had amended the UAPA on six occasions and “nobody can point a finger at Congress and say we were soft on terror”. Pointing to the “ambiguous” provision of branding a person as terrorist just because the Centre believes him to be a terrorist, Chidambaram wondered whether it would be used against “eminent” persons accused in the Koregaon-Bhima violence including activists Gautam Navlakha, Shoma Sen and Varavara Rao etc.
Shah assured that designation of an individual as terrorist would be subject to a four-stage scrutiny, even as Chidambaram termed the provision “unconstitutional” and “certain to be struck down by the courts” as it went against personal liberties. The home minister said outfits often circumvented a UAPA ban by rebranding.
