Analysis of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in India
The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) of 1967 is a significant component of anti-terror legislation in India, aimed at preventing activities that threaten the country's sovereignty. It has undergone amendments to address internal threats and impose reasonable restrictions on fundamental rights. UAPA criminalizes ideologies and associations that pose a risk to national integrity, with specific conditions defining what constitutes a crime under the act.
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Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act: An Analysis Kshitij Sharma The NorthCap University 2nd Year Student
Introduction The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) was enacted in 1967. UAPA is a component of anti-terror legislation. This law aims to prevent illegal activities that could endanger India's sovereignty. It was established to deal with the country's domestic crisis. Unlawful activity is defined as actions taken by individuals or organizations with the intent of bringing cession or separation and thus disrupting India's territorial integrity and sovereignty. This act aided in the implementation of the 16th amendment provisions concerning reasonable restrictions on fundamental rights. This act has been amended numerous times since its inception. Despite the fact that this act has received much criticism due to its strict principles, it has resulted in the arrest of some notable criminals.
Background Since inception, the government has tried to put restrictions upon the fundamental rights to protect it from being misused. Fundamental rights provided under article 19, freedom of speech and expression, were vulnerable to be misused. The first ever amendment in the Indian constitution was for the inclusion of words reasonable restriction and public order in Article 19. Due to the external violence from china (Sino-Indian War) in 1962 many communist parties and politicians were supporting China. At the same time, domestic protests were going-on in Tamil Nadu with regards to the Hindu language. The DMK party was officially planning secession for Tamil Nadu.
To overpower all these internal threats,National Integration Council(NIC) appointed a committee on National Integration and regionalism. On the recommendation of this committee, 16th Constitutional amendment was enacted. This amendment imposed further reasonable restrictions on 3 fundamental rights namely- Freedom of Speech and Expression, Right to Assemble Peacefully and Right to Form Association. Therewith Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act was passed in 1967 with the purpose of restricting domestic crisis and the acts that were derogatory to country s integrity and sovereignty.
What acc. to UAPA is Crime? According to UAPA, any one of the following conditions will suffice to constitute a crime- Possession of literature of an unlawful or terrorist organization. Adherence to an unlawful/violent ideology without conducting a violent act. Belonging to or associating with an unlawful or terrorist organization. Participating at a meeting of an unlawful or terrorist organization. According to the above mentioned conditions, it can be constituted that UAPA criminalizes ideologies and association.
Amendments under UAPA The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act, 1969 The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 1972 The Delegated Legislation Provisions (Amendment) Act, 1986 The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act, 2004 The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act, 2008 The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act, 2012 The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act, 2019
The 2019 Amendment This amendment lays down certain set of changes in the act which are mentioned below- Who all can be designated as terrorist- The change was made in Chapter 6 (section 35 & 36) of the UAPA. Previously, only an organization could be labelled a terrorist, but following the 2019 amendment, an individuals can also be labelled a terrorist. This change was enforced due to the practice of isolation of individuals from the organization as soon as the organization is designated as terrorist.
Detention Provisions- Any person booked under UAPA can be detained for a period of 180 days without any charge-sheet. According to section 43-D of the UAPA, if the investigation is incomplete, the detention period of 180 days can be extended further and the person detained will not get the right to bail. Inclusion of 4th Schedule- The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act, 2019 has added 4th schedule in the UAPA. This has empowered the government to declare any individual as terrorist and add his/her name in the 4th Schedule. There is no due process for this procedure of adding the name 4th schedule. Although the person can appeal to the government to denotify his name from the 4th schedule within 45 days.
Challenges Indirect restriction of the right to dissent- Because the right to dissent is a component of the fundamental right to free speech and expression, it cannot be limited in any way except as provided in article 19(2) of the Constitution. The UAPA 2019 restricts the right to speech and expression even further, which is harmful to a progressive democratic society. Undermines individual liberty- It provides the state extensive authority to detain and arrest those it suspects of being involved in terrorist operations. As a result, the state grants itself more powers in comparison to the individual liberty provided by Article 21 of the constitution.
Undermines Federalism- Some analysts believe that it is anti-federal since it ignores the power of state police in terrorist cases, despite the fact that "police" is a state subject under the 7th schedule of the Indian Constitution.
Solutions Preventing misuse- Terrorism is unquestionably a serious threat that must be addressed with strict anti-terrorism legislation. But only if the rules of UAPA are adhered to the letter and scripts of the law, rather than being abused to falsely accuse people. Many people are detained false-fully for many years and later released by the court on the grounds of lack of evidence, this shows the misuse of provisions of this act. Judicial review- Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. The judiciary has a bigger role to play here, examining cases of suspected misuse more thoroughly. Judicial review should be used for examining arbitrariness and subjectivity in the law. Everyone should have the right of equal Justice.
Maintaining a balance between fundamental freedoms and state interests- Drawing the line between individual liberty and the state's responsibility to ensure security is an age-old problem. Officers are responsible for maintaining professional integrity, adhering to the concept of objectivity, and avoiding any misuse.
Some Landmark Arrests Kk Shahina GN Saibaba Jyoti Chorge Wahid Sheikh Hubli Conspiracy Case
Conclusion The provisions under UAPA provide anonymous powers to the government which suppresses individual's liberty and they feel overwhelmed by the state. UAPA disrupts our political and civil rights provided by the constitution. The supporters of UAPA believe that its implementation is important for controlling the ongoing violent and disruptive terror activities in the country. On the other hand some people believe that provisions of UAPA unreasonably restrict our fundamental rights. According to them such restrictions should be only applied at the time of emergency when the country is at real threat. The unlawful activities (prevention) Act is like a two edged sword which guarantees safety and at the same time restricts some of the fundamental rights
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