Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act

[4] Pursuant to the acceptance of recommendations of the committee, the Constitution (Sixteenth Amendment) Act, 1963 was enacted to impose, by law, reasonable restrictions in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India.In 2019, the BJP led NDA government claimed that in order to implement the provisions of 1963 Act, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Bill was introduced in the Parliament.According to the statement of objects and reasons, the Bill amends the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 to make it more effective in preventing unlawful activities, and meet commitments made at the Financial Action Task Force (an intergovernmental organization to combat money laundering and terrorism financing).[13] The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill, 2019 was introduced in Lok Sabha by the Minister of Home Affairs, Amit Shah, on 8 July 2019.[15] Section 25 allows the NIA to seize property it considers to be proceeds of terrorism, with the written consent of the Director General of Police (DGP) of the State.[16] The police normally have 60 to 90 days to investigate a case and submit a charge-sheet failing which the accused may obtain default bail.[11][20] Critics of the UAPA consider the definitions of "terrorist", "like to threaten" and "likely to strike terror" to be very broad and open to misuse by the police as the burden of proof of innocence is on the accused.[6] Lawyer Rongeet Poddar wrote in the Oxford Human Rights Hub, that UAPA 2019 has made it possible for the Union Government to designate individuals as terrorists without a due process of law.He wrote, the UAPA 2019 "echoes laws made under the colonial regime to crush the freedom movement in the garb of ensuring public order."[23]On 25 July 2021, Justice Aftab Alam, former Supreme Court judge spoke on a webinar titled "Discussion On Democracy, Dissent and Draconian Law – Should UAPA & Sedition Have A Place In Our Statute Books?".Stan Swamy was an activist that was charged with UAPA for his alleged role in the 2018 Bhima Koregaon violence and links to the Communist Party of India (Maoist) and later died in prison due to COVID-19.[25] In June 2021, Delhi High Court called out UAPA misuse by the Union government by observing the state had broadened the scope of "terrorist activity" to include ordinary penal offences.PM Narendra Modi led BJP Union Government has been accused of misusing UAPA to stifle dissent and target minorities in India.
Parliament of IndiaLong titleIndian lawNational Integration CouncilUnited Nations special rapporteursUniversal Declaration of Human RightsInternational Covenant on Civil and Political RightsBBC NewsMumbai attacksSupreme Court of IndiaLok SabhaAmit ShahPRS Legislative ResearchNational Investigation AgencyInternational Convention for Suppression of Acts of Nuclear TerrorismMinistry of Home AffairsDirector General of PoliceUnion GovernmentGaur ChakrabortyOxford Human Rights HubK. G. KannabiranMihir DesaiAftab AlamSupreme CourtStan Swamy2018 Bhima Koregaon violenceCommunist Party of India (Maoist)COVID-19Haridwar hate speech caseNarendra ModiKobad GhandyNaxalite insurgencyArun FerreiraBinayak SenMamman Khan2023 Haryana riotsK K ShahinaG.N. SaibabaKamran YousufThirumurugan GandhiMay 17 MovementSudhir DhawaleMahesh RautShoma SenSurendra GadlingRona WilsonSudha BharadwajVaravara RaoVernon GonsalvesGautam NavlakhaAsif SultanAkhil GogoiCAA-NRC ProtestsMasrat ZahraAnand TeltumbdeMeeran HaiderSafoora ZargarSharjeel ImamUmar KhalidIshrat JahanSiddique KappanKhurram ParvezYasin MalikIrfan MehrajArundhati RoyList of organisations banned by the Government of IndiaPrevention of Terrorism Act, 2002The WireScroll.inIndian ExpressThe QuintAl JazeeraThe HinduThe Indian Express