'This process is the punishment.' 'Once the trial starts, they know this fairy tale case will fall on its face. So they don't want to begin the trial.'
According to the chargesheet, Rana played a crucial role in supporting terrorist David Coleman Headley, a Pakistani-American operative linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba, by facilitating his reconnaissance missions across Mumbai.
The UAPA allows the investigating agencies to get a longer remand of the accused and an extended duration to file a charge sheet.
A special court, in its acquittal order in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, has highlighted a running battle between the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and the National Investigation Agency (NIA), pointing out stark contradictions in their probe.
More than 500 scientists, academicians and students have written to the Bengaluru-based IISc expressing dismay over the cancellation of a discussion on anti-terror law UAPA that was to be led by student activists Natasha Narwal and Devangana Kalita.
For the first time a serving army officer was accused of terrorism.
The accused challenged a trial court's order rejecting their bail plea in the December 2023 incident.
Besides Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) (punishment for murder) and Section 3 of the Explosive Substances Act, relevant sections of the UAPA have also been invoked against the accused, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) official told reporters in Kochi.
'This type of comprehensive legislation has never been introduced before in Parliament's history.' 'A bill that simultaneously affects ministers, chief ministers, and the prime minister represents completely uncharted Constitutional territory.' 'Throughout our nation's legislative history, the established policy has consistently held that public office holders should face punishment only after receiving conviction from a competent court of law. Without this safeguard, we risk systematic destabilisation, and our federal structure would face complete collapse.' 'Any central government could potentially deploy this legislation against state governments they oppose politically. This represents the most frightening prospect and dangerous possibility that these bills create.'
The Delhi High Court has stayed the release of the movie 'Udaipur Files' amid concerns that it could promote communal disharmony. The court has directed petitioners to approach the central government with their grievances, and the stay will remain in effect until the government decides on the matter.
A Special NIA court in Mumbai has reserved the judgment in the 2008 Malegaon blast case for July 31. The court said the case has voluminous documents and needs time to deliver the verdict. The blast, which occurred in September 2008, killed six people and injured over 100. Seven accused, including Lt Col Prasad Purohit and BJP leader Pragya Thakur, are facing trial in the case.
A special court in India has reserved its verdict in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, which killed six people and injured over 100. The trial began nearly 17 years after the bombing in the town of Malegaon, located in Maharashtra. The prosecution concluded its final arguments on Saturday, marking the end of the hearings. Seven individuals, including Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit and BJP leader Pragya Thakur, are facing charges under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The verdict is expected to be delivered on May 8th.
Security agencies in Manipur are investigating an arms smuggling racket originating from Myanmar, with potential nationwide implications. The probe follows the arrest of a senior leader from a Valley-based Insurgent Group (VBIG).
The Maharashtra legislative assembly passed the 'Maharashtra Special Public Security Bill' aimed at preventing unlawful activities of Left Wing Extremist organizations, focusing on urban Naxalism and passive militancy.
The petitioner's counsel said his client was facing threats of arrest and torture in his country as he was a former Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam member, and that his wife and children had settled in India.
The Bombay High Court has extended the tenure of special NIA judge A K Lahoti, who is conducting trial in the 2008 Malegaon blast case, till August 31. Lahoti's name featured in the annual transfer list of judges, issued earlier by the registrar general of the high court. The transfer order was to come into effect after the reopening of courts on June 9 following summer vacation. However, a fresh notification mentioned that Lahoti's tenure has been stayed till August 31, enabling him to pass the verdict in the case that is in the final stage of trial.
A total of 35 people were convicted in 2018, 34 in 2019 and 80 in 2020, he said in a written reply to question.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has argued in a court that the five accused in the 2013 murder case of rationalist Dr Narendra Dabholkar be tried under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for striking "terror among a section of people".
The Delhi high court on Wednesday granted six-hour custody parole to Popular Front of India (PFI) national coordinator Ibrahim Puthanathani, arrested under the anti-terror law UAPA, to attend his daughter's wedding.
According to the police report, Sirohi and his associates on Monday created a ruckus outside the mosque, claiming it to be illegal. They then recited Hanuman Chalisa (a prayer dedicated to lord Hanuman) near the mosque and allegedly threatened to demolish it, it stated.
Senior Congress leader Ripun Bora has been summoned by Assam Police for questioning in connection with a case related to party colleague Gaurav Gogoi's alleged links with Pakistan. The summons comes after Bora publicly stated that Gogoi's wife received salaries from the Pakistan government, which prompted Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to claim that Bora "knows a lot" about Gogoi's alleged links. The case centers around allegations of Pakistani national Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, who is claimed to have links with Gogoi's British wife Elizabeth Colburn, interfering in India's internal affairs. Gogoi has vehemently denied the allegations and accused Sarma of making baseless accusations.
Senior Congress leader and former Rajya Sabha MP Ripun Bora was on Thursday questioned by Assam Police in connection with a case related to party colleague Gaurav Gogoi's alleged links with Pakistan, officials said.
Authorities in Kashmir have launched a massive crackdown on terrorists and their sympathisers in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, razing homes of the ultras, raiding their safe havens and detaining hundreds of overground workers for questioning, officials said on Saturday.
This legislation, passed in 1967 on the recommendations of the National Integration Council to combat communalism, casteism, regionalism and linguistic chauvinism and to deal with associations engaged in secessionist activities, has changed colour over time and has now become a statute that has created new categories of offences and punishments, 108 ex-bureaucrats said in an open letter.
Khalid is currently in judicial custody in connection with a larger conspiracy case related to the 2020 North East Delhi violence.
A low intensity bomb blast at a popular eatery in Bengaluru on Friday left 10 people injured, leading the police to invoke the stringent UAPA provisions in the case. Subsequently, the police were looking into all angles related to the incident.
The Delhi High Court has ordered Jammu and Kashmir MP Abdul Rashid Sheikh, alias Engineer Rashid, to deposit Rs 4 lakh with the prison authorities as travel expenses for attending Parliament. The court allowed Rashid to attend the ongoing Parliament session "in-custody" till April 4, but the NIA had raised concerns about him being a flight risk. Rashid has been lodged in Delhi's Tihar Jail since 2019 after the NIA arrested him in a 2017 terror-funding case.
Anand Teltumbde, an accused in the Elgar Parishad Maoist links case, has filed a writ petition in Bombay High Court seeking that a provision under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) to brand certain groups as a front for banned or terrorist organisations be quashed as it was bad in law.
"Tripura Police have taken up a case against a total of 102 Twitter accounts under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for spreading fake and distorted information related to the recent violence that took place at Panisagar North Tripura," said Jyotishman Das Choudhary, Public Relation Officer of Tripura Police.
'There are many people languishing in jail under these draconian laws, where it takes them 10 years, 15 years, to finally be acquitted.' 'And, who is going to account for those years?' 'The home ministry's statistics says that between 2016 and 2019, the conviction rate (under UAPA) is only 2 per cent and the use of UAPA has increased by more than 70 per cent.' 'There are many people languishing in jail under these draconian laws, where it takes them 10 years, 15 years, to finally be acquitted.'
'Who is going to account for those years?'
'The home ministry's statistics says that between 2016 and 2019, the conviction rate (under UAPA) is only 2 per cent and the use of UAPA has increased by more than 70 per cent.' 'The government statistics itself is so revealing what the purpose of this law (UAPA) is.'
The Delhi High Court has ruled that an undertrial's prolonged incarceration cannot be a reason to grant bail in terrorism cases, emphasizing the gravity of such offenses and their potential to destabilize the nation. The court denied bail to separatist leader Nayeem Ahmad Khan in a terror-funding case involving Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and 26/11 Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed. The court considered the accused's argument regarding a prolonged trial and his right to liberty but emphasized that the serious nature of the crime, with its potential to disrupt national unity and create fear among the public, outweighs the length of incarceration. Khan, who was arrested in 2017, has been accused of conspiring for secession of Jammu and Kashmir through terrorist activities, receiving funding from Pakistan, and organizing anti-India rallies and demonstrations. The court highlighted the evidence, including witness statements and documents, supporting the accusations against Khan.
Swamy said section 43D(5) of the UAPA was violative of the accused person's fundamental right to life and liberty as guaranteed by the Constitution even as the high court on Saturday extended the stay of the 84-year-old Jesuit priest at a private hospital in Mumbai till July 6.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday alleged that Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi visited Pakistan on an invitation from its spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence, and that he worked closely with the establishment of the neighbouring nation.
The Jammu and Kashmir Police has registered two cases against medical students in Srinagar under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for celebrating Pakistan's victory over India in a T20 international cricket match, officials said on Tuesday.
A bench comprising Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices D Y Chandrachud and Surya Kant also issued a notice to the Agartala police on the plea filed by advocates, Mukesh and Ansarul Haq, and journalist Shyam Meera Singh against lodging of the FIR.
'We have been fighting to treat political prisoners differently.' 'Except for Hyderabad and Kolkata, the concept of keeping political prisoners separate doesn't exist in India.'
A division bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande warned that it would impose costs on the authorities for denying parole only on the ground that Baig had been convicted of terror charges.
The high court judgments will "not to be treated as precedent by any court" to give similar reliefs, the apex court said while hearing Delhi police's appeal against the bail granted to 3 Delhi students.
The Tripura police have registered a case against four Supreme Court lawyers under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and various sections of the Indian Penal Code for allegedly promoting communal disharmony with their social media posts about the recent violence targeting Muslims
Researcher Rona Wilson and activist Sudhir Dhawale, accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, were released on bail from a Navi Mumbai prison on Friday, more than six years after they were arrested. The duo walked out of the Taloja jail after completing bail formalities before the special NIA court, over a fortnight after they were granted bail by the Bombay High Court. The HC granted bail to Wilson and Dhawale on January 8, noting they had been in jail since 2018 and the trial in the case, in which anti-terror act UAPA has been invoked, was yet to start. Apart from Dhawale and Wilson, 14 other activists and academicians were arrested in the case. Eight of them have been granted bail till now, with one, Mahesh Raut, still in jail as the appeal filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) against his bail is pending before the Supreme Court. Jesuit priest and activist Stan Swamy, one of the accused, died in 2021 while lodged in judicial custody. The case pertains to provocative speeches allegedly delivered at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, triggering violence at Koregaon-Bhima, a village outside Pune city, the next day. The Pune police had claimed the conclave was backed by Maoists. The NIA later took over the probe.
