Supreme Court judgment on UAPA

NEWS: Supreme Court changes stand; now mere membership of a banned outfit is a crime under UAPA.

the Supreme Court has set aside a series of its own judgments which had concluded that “mere membership” — unlike “active membership” — of an unlawful association or organisation did not make a person a criminal or a terrorist.

 Major Highlights of judgment 

• The judgment referred to Section 10(a)(i) of the UAPA which deals with membership of an unlawful association. 
  • The provision says that “where an association is declared unlawful by a notification issued under Section 3 – 
  • (a) a person, who—
  • (i) is and continues to be a member of such association shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, and shall also be liable to fine”.
• The court clarified that persons who had left the organisation and were not members at the time it was declared unlawful, cannot be held liable under Section 10(a)(i) of the UAPA.
• The court said Section 10(a)(i) was fully consonant with the objective of the UAPA to effectively prevent terrorism and unlawful activities.
• The court referred to Article 19(4), which mandated that the citizens’ right to form unions or associations was subject to the power of the state to make laws to impose “reasonable restrictions” in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India or public order or morality.

 About Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA)

• It provides special procedures to deal with terrorist activities, among other things.
• The Act provided for declaring an association or a body of individuals “unlawful” if they indulged in any activity that included acts and words, spoken or written, or any sign or representation, that supported any claim to bring about “the cession of a part of the territory of India”, or its “secession”, or which questions or disclaims the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Practice Questions for Prelims

With reference to the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), consider the following statements:
1. The act is applicable even if the offense is committed outside India.
2. The Union government has the power to designate an individual or an organization as a terrorist.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a) 1 only
b) 2 only
c) Both 1 and 2
d) Neither 1 nor 2

Ans. c)

Mains Practice Question

Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) is the India’s main anti-terrorism legislation but UAPA is being grossly misused, often with impunity. Discuss.

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