Context: Only 2.2 % of cases registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act between the years 2016-2019 ended in convictions by court, according to data presented by the Union Home Ministry in the Rajya Sabha.

Cases under UAPA

• Between 2016 and 2019, the total number of the persons arrested and convicted in the country under UAPA were 5,922 and 132 respectively. This means only 2.2 % of cases registered under the Act ended in convictions by the court.
• The NCRB does not maintain this data on the basis of religion, race, caste or gender.

Cases under Sedition

• In 2019, as many as 96 persons were arrested for sedition (Section 124A IPC) but only two were convicted and 29 persons were acquitted.
• The most cases of sedition in 2019 were registered in the States of Karnataka followed by Assam and J&K & Ladakh.

Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act,1967

• It is primarily an anti-terror law – aimed at more effective prevention of certain unlawful activities of individuals and associations and for dealing with terrorist activities.
• It was promulgated in 1967 to target secessionist organisations. It is considered to be the predecessor of laws such as the (now repealed) Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) and Prevention of Terrorism Act(POTA).

Key Provisions of the Act

• The Act assigns absolute power to the central government. It can declare an activity as unlawful, by way of an Official Gazette.
• The act has the death penalty and life imprisonment as the highest punishments.
• Under the act, both Indian and foreign nationals can be charged. It will be applicable to the offenders in the same manner, even if the crime is committed on a foreign land, outside India.
• The investigating agency can file a charge sheet in maximum 180 days after the arrests. This duration can be extended further after information to the court.

2004 amendment

• The act was amended in 2004. It added “terrorist act” to the list of offences, to ban organisations for terrorist activities.
• Till 2004, “unlawful” activities referred to actions related to secession and cession of territory. Following the 2004 amendment, “terrorist act” was added to the list of offences.

2019 amendment

• The amendment empowers the Central Government to designate individuals as terrorists on certain grounds.
• It empowers the Director-General, National Investigation Agency (NIA) to grant approval of seizure or attachment of property when the case is under investigation by the agency.
• It also empowers the officers of the NIA, of the rank of Inspector or above to investigate cases of terrorism in addition to those conducted by the DSP or ACP or above rank officer in the state.

Issues With UAPA

• Undermines Individual Liberty: It gives the state authority vague powers to detain and arrest individuals who it believes to be indulged in terrorist activities. Thus, the state gives itself more powers vis-a-vis individual liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.
• Indirect Restriction on Right to Dissent: The right of dissent is a part and parcel of fundamental right to free speech and expression and therefore, cannot be abridged in any circumstances except for mentioned in Article 19 (2).
• The UAPA, 2019 empowers the ruling government, under the garb of curbing terrorism, to impose indirect restriction on right of dissent which is detrimental for a developing democratic society.
• Undermines Federalism: Some experts feel that it is against the federal structure since it neglects the authority of state police in terrorism cases, given that ‘Police’ is a state subject under 7th schedule of Indian Constitution.