Centre – Alfaaz – The Words

Srinagar: Fresh data placed before Parliament on Wednesday showed that Jammu & Kashmir logged the highest number of arrests under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in the country, with the Union Territory accounting for more than two-fifths of all such detentions recorded nationwide in 2023.

Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai, responding to a question by Congress MP Shafi Parambil, said that 2,914 people were arrested under UAPA across India in 2023, of which 1,206, nearly 42%, were from J&K alone. Despite this, the Union Territory secured only 10 convictions, reflecting a 0.8% conviction rate, one of the lowest in the country.

Rai said that police and public order fall under the purview of state governments, while the Centre compiles nationwide arrest and conviction data through the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). However, he clarified that NCRB does not maintain state-wise figures on the number of persons currently imprisoned under the anti-terror law.

According to the figures tabled in Parliament, J&K accounted for 98 percent of all UAPA arrests recorded across the Union Territories in 2023. Across India, 1,686 people were arrested under the law in 28 states, while 1,228 were arrested in seven Union Territories.

Uttar Pradesh recorded the second-highest number of arrests with 1,122 cases in 2023, more than double the 503 recorded in the previous year. By contrast, J&K saw only a marginal dip from 1,238 arrests in 2022 to 1,206 in 2023. Delhi reported 22 arrests last year, five fewer than in 2022. Nationally, the conviction rate for UAPA cases stood at 4 percent.

In a separate reply, Minister Rai reiterated the Centre’s “zero-tolerance policy” toward activities that threaten the sovereignty, unity or security of the country. He added that strict action continues to be taken under UAPA to curb extremist and separatist networks. Over the past five years, the government has designated 23 organisations as “Unlawful Associations,” several of them linked to terrorism in Jammu & Kashmir and the Northeast. (GNS)