Repeal UAPA

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.