In 2015, only six cases were registered under UAPA in which 23 people were arrested. After the formation of the BJP government of Yogi Adityanath in 2017, 313 cases have been registered under UAPA and 1397 people were arrested.
According to government data, Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of arrests under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) in India. Jammu and Kashmir is in second place in this matter while the north eastern state of Manipur is in third place.
In a written reply to a question given in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said that in the year 2020, 361 arrests have been made in UP under UAPA, while 346 in Jammu and Kashmir and 225 people in Manipur have been arrested under this law.
So far only 3% have been found guilty
Referring to the data of National Crime Records Bureau i.e. NCRB, the Union Minister of State for Home said that there has been a decrease in the arrests made under this Act in the year 2020 as compared to the year 2019. In the year 2019, where 1948 arrests were made across the country under UAPA, in the year 2020 this number was 1321.
In response to another question, he said that since 2016 till now, a total of 7243 people have been arrested under UAPA, out of which only 212 people have been convicted. 286 people were let off because no charges were found while in 42 cases the courts were let off because no charges were found.
The number of acquittals increased by 26%
According to the data, between 2019 and 2020, there has been a decline in the number of people arrested under the UAPA while the number of acquittals under the law has increased by 26 percent. In the year 2019, 92 people were acquitted after being arrested under this law, while in 2020 the number of people acquitted was 116.
According to legal experts, it is very difficult to get bail under the UAPA as the investigating agency has 180 days to file a charge sheet and the trial of a jailed person becomes difficult. Section 43-D(5) of the UAPA states that if the court finds prima facie the charges against an accused to be true, the accused shall not be released on bail.
Question on arrest of Khurram Parvez
The main function of this law is to prevent terrorist activities and under this the police identify such criminals or other people who are involved in terrorist activities or promote such activities. In this case, NIA i.e. National Investigation Agency has a lot of powers.
The UAPA Act was brought in the year 1967. In August 2019, it was amended to make it even more stringent. After the amendment, this law got so much power that any person can be declared a terrorist on the basis of investigation.
Questions have also been raised on many arrests made under this law and the United Nations has also raised questions on the arrest of human rights activist Khurram Parvez in Jammu and Kashmir in the past. However, India has reacted sharply to the statement of the United Nations and said that the statement of the spokesperson of the UN High Commissioner is baseless.
1397 people arrested in UP in last four years
The cases registered under UAPA are investigated by the State Police and the National Investigation Agency (NIA). Uttar Pradesh may be the top in the case of arrests under this law at this time, but in the year 2015, only six cases were registered here in which 23 people were arrested. Due to this, 10 cases were registered and 15 people were arrested in the next year i.e. 2016, but the number of cases and arrests registered under it continued to increase in the next year itself. In the year 2017, 109 cases were registered and 382 people were caught and put in jail. In the year 2017 itself, the BJP government was formed in UP under the leadership of Yogi Adityanath. During these four years in UP, 313 cases have been registered under UAPA and 1397 people have been arrested.
Many famous social workers across the country including Uttar Pradesh have also been arrested under this law, many of whom are still in jail. Last year, Kerala-based journalist Siddiq Kappan, who was on his way to report on the Hathras case, was also arrested under the same law, who is yet to get bail. Retired IPS officer Vikram Singh, who has been the DGP of Uttar Pradesh, says that this is a very sensitive law and it should be used carefully. He says, “Any misuse of this law can lead to very serious consequences. Under this, there should be a compelling reason for arresting anyone and it should be used only in very urgent circumstances.”
Police officers also worried about arrests
Many other police officers have also expressed concern over the cases and arrests registered under this law in UP. People associated with opposition parties and social organizations allege that the government is using this law unnecessarily to suppress the voices of dissent.
VN Rai, another retired IPS officer in UP, says that such stringent laws should not be used on a regular basis. According to him, “the purposes for which these laws have been made, they should be used in the same cases. Not every crime is related to sedition and terrorism. This puts an unnecessary burden on the investigating agencies as well as on the courts.” Secondly, it also raises the possibility of misuse of the law. As far as UP is concerned, so many cases have been registered under UAPA in the last four and a half years but there has been no significant improvement in law and order.
