Jahangeer Ganaie
Srinagar, Mar 15 : No amendments to Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) are under consideration with the government, said the Union Ministry of Home on Tuesday.
According to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), Minister of Home Affairs Nityanand Rai said that the UAPA has been amended in the past but currently no amendments are under consideration.
The minister was replying to a question on whether the government plans to amend the existing Act in the face of acquittals and misuse of the law.
“Conviction is an outcome of an elaborate judicial process and is dependent on various factors such as duration of trial, appraisal of evidence, examination of witnesses, etc,” Rai said.
According to him, adequate Constitutional, institutional and statutory safeguards comprising inbuilt safeguards in the UAPA itself to prevent misuse of the law.
He said that 346 persons were arrested under UAPA in J&K in 2020. They include 103 persons on bail, two convicted and four acquitted.
He further added that 177 persons were arrested in 2018 while 247 were held in 2019 under UAPA in J&K—(KNO)
