As more than 90 per cent trials in cases under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 resulted in acquittals, the Supreme Court on Monday flagged the extremely poor conviction rate under India’s main anti-terror law.
A Bench of Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan – which granted bail to Jammu and Kashmir resident Syed Iftikhar Andrabi in a narco-terrorism case – cited the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data which revealed that the country-wide percentage of convictions under the UAPA from 2019-23 was between 2 per cent and 6 per cent.
“It is evident that the country-wide percentage of conviction under the UAP Act for the five years comprising the period 2019-23 hovers between 2% to 6%. In other words, there is 94% to 98% possibility of acquittal in such cases in the country,” it noted.
“When it comes to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, the percentage of conviction is abysmal, to say the least. For the aforesaid period, the annual rate of conviction is always less than 1%. It means that at the end of the trial, there is 99% possibility of acquittal in such cases,” it said.
“With these kinds of statistics staring at our face, the question is, should we continue the detention of the appellant or defer the consideration to a later stage, simply because the charges are serious?” the Bench wondered.
Noting that there was no recovery of cash or contraband from the person of the appellant or from the premises used by him, either as his residence or place of work, the top court granted bail to Andrabi, saying he has made out a case for the grant of bail during the pendency of the trial.
Andrabi, a resident of Handwara in Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir, was arrested by the NIA on June 11, 2020 for allegedly being a part of a cross-border drug syndicate procuring heroin from the Tangdhar border area and channelling the proceeds to fund terror outfits such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen.
He is facing charges under Sections 8, 21, 25 and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS Act), Sections 17, 38 and 40 of the UAPA and Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.
A Special NIA Court in Jammu denied him bail in August 2024 and the order was upheld by the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh at Jammu, forcing the accused to approach the top court which gave him bail.
“All statements implicating the appellant have been made before the police, including the confessions allegedly made by the appellant himself, which, prima facie, are self-incriminating and hit by Section 25 of the Evidence Act, 1872. The appellant has no prior antecedents of being connected with the narcotic trade or in terrorist activities. At least, no such material has been placed on record.
“On the contrary, it is stated that the appellant is an ardent advocate of the constitutional, federal and democratic set-up of India. He is a supporter of the Jammu and Kashmir People’s Conference, a registered mainstream political party,” the top court said, granting him bail.
