The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), and Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence) have a common link. In recent days, cases filed under these laws and section are rising, while convictions have remained poor. Under the UAPA, 4,690 persons were arrested between 2018 and 2020, but only 3% were convicted. Till March 2022, 5,422 cases were recorded under the PMLA, but only 23 resulted in convictions. The conviction rate under Section 153A in 2020 was just 20.2%. Moreover, under the UAPA and PMLA, getting bail is tough, and so the accused spend most of the trial period inside prison. For instance, of the 1,338 persons convicted under the UAPA in U.P. between 2018 and 2020, only 6% got convicted, while none of the other 94% got bail.
Arrests under UAPA
The chart shows the number of people arrested under the UAPA between 2018 and 2020, and the number of people who were convicted , acquitted and got bail.
