Question : Arrest Under UAPA

(a) the number of people arrested and convicted under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) during each of the last three years along with the number of people were denied bail on what grounds;

(b) whether the Government has any proposal to amend the existing act in the light of recent evidence about the large number of acquittals and how the law is
being misuse;

(c) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;

(d) whether the Government has also any proposal to amend the UAPA law to prevent the harassment of innocent persons; and

(e) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS
(SHRI NITYANAND RAI)
(a) : The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) compiles the data on crime as reported to it by States and Union Territories and publishes the same in its annual publication ‘Crime in India’. The latest published report is of the year 2020. As per the published report, the State/UT-wise number of persons arrested and persons convicted under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, during 2018-2020 is at the Annexure. The data regarding the number of persons who were denied bail is not maintained by the NCRB.

(b) to (e): Conviction is the outcome of an elaborate judicial process and is dependent on various factors, such as, duration of trial, appraisal of evidence, examination of witnesses, etc. There are adequate Constitutional, institutional and statutory safeguards, including inbuilt safeguards in the UAPA itself, to prevent misuse of the law.
The UAPA has been amended in the past keeping in view the requirement. Presently, no amendments in the UAPA are under consideration.

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