Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967

The accused, Nirala Yadav, was arrested for offences under the IPC, Arms Act and POTA. After the statutory 90‑day period for filing a charge‑sheet elapsed without a charge‑sheet or an extension application, he filed an application under s.167(2) CrPC for bail. The CBI then filed an application for a 30‑day extension, a…

The appellant, Mohammed Ajmal Mohammad Amir Kasab, was one of ten Pakistani terrorists who launched a coordinated attack on Mumbai on November 26, 2008, killing 166 people and injuring 238. He was convicted by the trial court on multiple charges including waging war against the Government of India, murder, and terroris…

The Supreme Court examined bail applications of two accused under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA) for alleged offences under Sections 38, 39 and 13. The Court held that the charge‑sheet material did not show reasonable grounds to believe that the accusations under Sections 38 and 39 were prima fac…

Five eminent citizens filed a writ petition under Article 32 on behalf of five human‑rights activists arrested in connection with the Bhima‑Koregaon violence. The petitioners alleged that the arrests were fabricated, that the police were using the media to prejudice public opinion, and sought a Special Investigating Te…

The case arose from the Bhima‑Koregaon violence of December 2017, after which the National Investigation Agency (NIA) expanded the investigation, searched the residences of several activists and arrested Vernon Gonsalves and Arun Ferreira. The prosecution alleged that the two were members of the banned CPI (Maoist) and…

The petitioner was arrested after a joint operation by the Indian Coast Guard and DRI seized over 236 kg of heroin from a Pakistani vessel near Jakhau Port, Gujarat. The prosecution alleged that the petitioner, aboard an Indian fishing boat, responded to a VHF call intended for the drug handover, indicating his role as…

The former Tamil Nadu Transport Minister V. Senthil Balaji was arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for alleged involvement in a large‑scale job‑racketeering scheme, with the Enforcement Directorate filing a complaint under Section 3 of the PMLA punishable under Section 4. The High Court rejecte…

The Supreme Court examined whether it could compel Parliament to enact a law disqualifying candidates against whom serious criminal charges have been framed and whether it could direct the Election Commission to deny such candidates the use of a party's reserved symbol. The Court held that disqualification is a matter …

The appellant was charged under the UAPA and related statutes, and the trial court declared five prosecution witnesses as protected under Section 44 of the UAPA and Section 173(6) of the CrPC, sealing their statements. The appellant later sought, under Section 207 of the CrPC, redacted copies of those statements so tha…

The Supreme Court examined whether a person must show "active membership" to be convicted under Section 10(a)(i) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA) after an association is declared unlawful. It held that the provision plainly punishes anyone who continues to be a member of a banned association, wi…

The appellant, Fuleshwar Gope, was alleged to be a director of a company used to collect funds for the People’s Liberation Front of India and was charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). He challenged the sanction order, arguing violations of statutory timelines, lack of independent review, misjoi…

The appellants challenged the constitutional validity of the phrase "promoting insurgency" in Section 2(1)(e) of the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, 1999, arguing that the State legislature lacked competence and that the provision conflicted with the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act, 2004. The…

The appellant, a police constable, was summoned to the Senior Superintendent's office and allegedly detained illegally for six days during which he suffered severe genital mutilation and other injuries, as confirmed by medical reports. His wife complained to the police seeking registration of an FIR against the officia…

An FIR was lodged on 14 July 2016 alleging that the accused had links with ISIS and were planning bombings under the UAPA. The Anti‑Terrorism Squad (ATS) of Nanded began investigation, arrested four persons and, on 8 September 2016, the Central Government directed the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Mumbai to take …

The Supreme Court examined two bail appeals arising from a 2020 FIR under the IPC, Arms Act and UAPA, involving accused no.11 (Saleem Khan) and accused no.20 (Mohd. Zaid). Both had been denied bail by the trial court, but the Karnataka High Court granted bail to Khan while refusing it to Zaid. The Court held that Khan'…

The appellant, a Sri Lankan national named Ranjan, was arrested in 2021 and charged under multiple statutes for allegedly being the absconding accused "Sri" (A‑5) involved in a conspiracy to revive the banned LTTE. The prosecution’s case rested solely on the belated testimonies of two witnesses who identified the appel…

The appellant, Dr. Subhash Kashinath Mahajan, a senior government official, was charged under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act for refusing sanction to prosecute two senior officers who had made adverse entries in his service record. He sought anticipatory bail and the quashing o…

The appellant, Sayed Mohd. Ahmed Kazmi, was arrested in connection with an alleged bomb attack and was placed in police and then judicial custody. After the initial 90‑day period expired, the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate extended his custody for another 90 days with retrospective effect, despite the appellant's pendin…

The appellant, a Nepalese national, was arrested in 2015 for allegedly supplying high‑quality counterfeit Indian currency and was charged under Sections 489B and 489C of the IPC and Section 16 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. After more than nine years of incarceration, only two prosecution witnesses …

The State of West Bengal appealed against a Calcutta High Court order that quashed the addition of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) offences to an IPC case and set aside extensions of remand. The investigation, conducted by the State police, led the Chief Judge of the City Sessions Court to permit inclusion …

The appellant, alleged active member of the Popular Front of India (PFI), was arrested in July 2022 for allegedly planning disturbances during the Prime Minister's visit to Patna. He was charged under several sections of the IPC and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), but the chargesheet had not been frame…

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) investigated a terrorist plot in Jammu & Kashmir and filed a chargesheet on 25 September 2019 under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) 1989. The Special Judge, NIA, refused to take cognizance of the conspiracy charge under Section 120‑B of the Ranbir Penal Code because the req…

Huidrom Shantikumar Singh was arrested for murder under Section 302 IPC and the Arms Act and, while already in custody, a District Magistrate ordered his detention under Section 3(2) of the National Security Act (NSA) on the basis that he might be released on bail in a similar case and could engage in activities prejud…

The petitioner was arrested in Punjab for alleged NDNDPS offences and was granted bail, which was later cancelled by the High Court after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) took over the investigation of related scheduled offences under the UAPA. The Central Government, invoking Section 6(5) and Section 8 of the N…

Bimal Gurung, president of the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, filed a writ petition under Article 32 seeking the transfer of investigation of all FIRs (over 100 cases) lodged against him and other GJM members to an independent agency such as the CBI or NIA, alleging political bias and threat to life. The State of West Bengal …

The appellant was arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) on 3 October 2023 without the arrest memo containing the specific grounds of arrest, only generic reasons. He was presented before a Remand Judge on 4 October 2023 and remanded to police custody, but the copy of the remand application and …

An FIR was lodged against Fakhrey Alam under several IPC sections, the Arms Act and Section 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The police filed a charge sheet for the IPC and Arms offences within the 180‑day period but delayed the UAPA charge sheet beyond that period, filing it after 211 days. The a…

The case concerned two separate prosecutions arising from the July 2006 Mumbai suburban train bomb blasts. In Special Case No. 21 of 2006, the accused‑respondents sought to summon four Deputy Commissioners of Police (who had recorded confessional statements of three other accused in a later Special Case No. 4 of 2009) …

The accused, MD Hussain, was charged with offences under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and other statutes, and the investigation was taken over by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). He filed a bail application before a single judge of the Bombay High Cour…

The appellant, a retired police constable, was charged under the UAPA and IPC for alleged involvement in activities of the Popular Front of India (PFI) at a building owned by his wife. He sought bail before the Special Court and the High Court, both of which denied it while granting bail to a co‑accused. The Supreme Co…

The appellant was arrested in March 2020 after his vehicle was intercepted and items allegedly linked to Naxalite activities were recovered. He has been in judicial custody for five years, with the trial still ongoing and only 42 of the planned 100 witnesses examined, some of whom have turned hostile. The central issue…

The State of Maharashtra sought to detain six accused under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) beyond the statutory 90‑day period, filing an application for a further 90‑day extension. The respondents claimed default bail, arguing that the public prosecutor’s report did not satisfy the proviso to Section 4…

A hand grenade attack at a public gathering in Amritsar resulted in three deaths and 22 serious injuries. Bikramjit Singh was arrested, remanded to custody, and after 90 days (which expired on 21‑02‑2019) he applied for default bail; the Sub‑Divisional Judicial Magistrate dismissed the application, claiming he had alre…

The appellant, Harpreet Singh Talwar, was charged with facilitating the import of a consignment of heroin‑laden talc stones through a front company, M/s Magent India, after meetings with a foreign conspirator in Dubai. The prosecution alleged that he coordinated the shipment, used proxy firms, fabricated invoices, and …

The appellant, Gautam Navlakha, was arrested in connection with a UAPA case and placed under house arrest for 34 days after a transit remand order was stayed by the Delhi High Court. He later surrendered and was taken into police custody, seeking default bail on the ground that the house‑arrest period should count towa…

The appellants, who were government servants, were arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) on allegations that they had paid money to a terrorist organization. They obtained bail from a Special Court, which held that their payments were made under compulsion and that they were cooperating with th…

The Supreme Court heard a public‑interest writ petition filed by Pravasi Bhalai Sangathan seeking pre‑emptive orders against hate speeches by elected representatives, arguing that such speeches violate Articles 14, 15, 19, 21 and fundamental duties. The Court examined whether existing statutes—IPC, SC/ST (Prevention of…

The Supreme Court examined appeals by four accused (A‑1, A‑4 to A‑6) who were convicted for conspiring to wage war against the Government of India under IPC s.121A, along with offences under the Explosive Substances Act, 1908 and the Arms Act, 1959. The prosecution relied on recovered explosives, arms, inflammatory lit…

Jahir Hak was arrested in May 2014 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 for a range of serious offences and has been in custody for nearly eight years as an under‑trial prisoner. The High Court rejected his application for bail under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, prompting an appeal to …

The appellant, Sri Indra Das, was convicted under Section 3(5) of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) for alleged membership in the banned ULFA organization, based solely on a confession to a police officer that was later retracted and uncorroborated. The Supreme Court held that a confession…

Manohar Lal Sharma filed a writ petition seeking a Supreme Court direction for the CBI to investigate Indian offshore account holders disclosed in the Panama Papers and to register FIRs against SEBI officials. The petitioner alleged that SEBI and other authorities had failed to act, causing financial loss and facilitat…

The petitioners, comprising the Extra Judicial Execution Victim Families Association and a human‑rights trust, alleged that the Manipur police and Union armed forces carried out fake encounters and extra‑judicial killings of civilians, many of whom were in custody, and that no FIRs were registered. They sought, under A…

The Supreme Court, hearing a Special Leave Petition arising from sectarian violence in Manipur that included widespread sexual violence against women, directed the State and Union governments to restore law and order and ensure justice for victims. It ordered the formation of a three‑member committee of former female j…

The appellant, Gurwinder Singh, was arrested along with co‑accused for alleged involvement in a terrorist module of the banned organization ‘Sikhs for Justice’, including raising funds, conspiracy and attempts to procure weapons. The investigation, taken over by the NIA, resulted in charges under the UAPA, IPC and Arms…

The appellant, accused in a NIA case, challenged an order of the Special Court that granted witness protection to a large number of witnesses under sub‑section 2 of section 44 of the UAPA and the corresponding provision in the NIA Act, without recording individual satisfaction for each witness. The High Court upheld mo…

Shoma Kanti Sen was arrested in June 2018 in connection with the Elgar Parishad event and charged under the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA). The High Court dismissed her bail application, directing her to approach the trial court, after the investigation was transferred to th…

The Supreme Court examined bail applications of several accused in the 2020 Delhi riots case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. It balanced the constitutional right to liberty under Article 21 against the statutory bail restriction in Section 43D(5) of the UAPA, considering the length of pre‑trial de…

Javed Gulam Nabi Shaikh was arrested in February 2020 with a large consignment of counterfeit currency and charged under Sections 489B, 489C, 120B read with 34 of the IPC and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. The investigation was taken over by the NIA and, after four years of custody, the trial court had…

The respondent was arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the Indian Penal Code and the Arms Act, and the investigation period of 90 days expired on 15 September 2020. The investigating officer obtained two extensions, first to 11 November 2020 and then, on 7 November 2020, a further 30‑day extension …

The State of Kerala appealed a Kerala High Court order granting bail to Dr. Raneef, a dental surgeon accused of aiding assailants who assaulted a college professor and severed his right palm. The prosecution alleged that Dr. Raneef, a member of the Popular Front of India (PFI), had pre‑arranged to provide medical treat…

The trial court convicted Yasmeen Mohammad Zahid under Section 120B of the IPC and Section 38 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for conspiring to wage war and associating with ISIS, sentencing her to three years and seven years respectively. The Kerala High Court acquitted her of the charges under Sect…

Narsingh Ispat Ltd. had a Standard Fire and Special Perils policy with Oriental Insurance. After a violent intrusion on 23 March 2010 caused extensive damage to its factory, the insurer denied the claim invoking an exclusion clause that barred loss caused by "acts of terrorism". The Consumer Commission upheld the denia…

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) sought to deny bail to Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali, accused No.10 in a case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA) and several IPC offences, alleging he was a key fund‑raiser for terrorist activities. The Delhi High Court granted bail, holding that the charge‑sh…

The appellant, Ashim Kumar Haranath Bhattacharya, was arrested in July 2012 under the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act for offences including conspiracy, waging war, and violations of the Arms and Explosive Substances Acts. Although the charge sheet was filed in 2012, charges were only framed in 2019 and the tri…

The Kodungallur Film Society filed a writ petition under Article 32 seeking directions to prevent mob violence against cultural establishments, especially following protests over films like Padmaavat. The Court examined whether the State must implement the guidelines from In Re: Destruction of Public and Private Proper…

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) investigated the murder of Rudresh and charged Asim Shariff, the Bengaluru unit president of the Popular Front of India, along with four others under multiple provisions of the IPC, Arms Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Shariff filed an application for discharge …

The appellant, Pradeep Ram, was granted bail in 2016 for offences under the IPC, Arms Act and Criminal Law Amendment Act. Subsequent addition of serious offences under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act led the investigating agency to seek his arrest and the Special NIA Judge remanded him to judicial custody. The…

The appellants were arrested in 2019 for offences under the IPC, UAPA and the Explosive Substances Act and a chargesheet was filed within the 180‑day period prescribed under Section 167(2) of the CrPC. They applied for statutory/default bail on the ground that the chargesheet was filed without a sanction order, arguing…

The appellant was arrested in 2007 in connection with a bomb‑defusing case and, while in police custody, gave a confessional statement that was recorded by a Superintendent of Police under Section 15 of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, 1987. The appellant contended that the confession was not v…

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) appealed against the Kerala High Court’s order granting bail to K. A. NajeeB, who was charged under multiple IPC offences, the Explosive Substances Act and several provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The High Court had released the undertrial on bail, c…