A Weapon to Stifle Dissent: Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967

Abstract

In contemporary times, rather than acting as harbinger of liberty and dignity, many legislations have become instruments of oppression. One such law is the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act or UAPA. This act has been in the limelight recently due to many reasons. Two of those reasons being the death of Father Stan Swamy who was repeatedly denied bail despite his deteriorating health conditions and due to the Delhi High Court order while granting bail to three college students charged with UAPA in connection with 2020 Delhi riots case. In this article, the author endeavours to throw light on the stringent provisions of this act. In addition, the author seeks to highlight some of the recent cases under UAPA against several civil rights activists, students, academicians, journalists etc. It will also be discussed that how this law has been misused to trample the constitutional morality.