Context:The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act or UAPA has not to place in a democracy like India.
Issues with the UAPA:
Out of sync with the democratic credentials of India:
The UAPA, in its current form, is an inversion of basic legal precepts. It enables the state to arrest and incarcerate citizens almost indefinitely.
Bail under the law is extremely difficult to obtain since courts are required to depend on police documents to presume the guilt of the accused.
India is increasingly being placed in the same league as regimes in Hungary, Turkey, Brazil, and the Philippines for its authoritarian bent.
Reduces the economic ability of the accused to fight the case: It allows courts to provide for the attachment of property equivalent to the proceeds of terrorism involved in the offence.
Elevation to the status of terror law: This became easier after a 2019 amendment that allowed the government to name individuals as terrorists.
Previously, only organisations could be given this tag.
Increase in arrest, low on conviction:
According to the home ministry data, there has been a 72% increase in the number of arrests made under the UAPA between 2015 and 2019.
The same source shows that the conviction rate has only been roughly 2%, underlining the weak grounds on which these cases are built.
Conclusion: Repealing the UAPA would be a good way of salvaging the country’s reputation.