New Delhi [India]: A total of 15 organisations have been declared unlawful associations under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act to date, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) told the Rajya Sabha.
All these organisations were declared as unlawful associations under Section 3 of the UAPA, 1967 between 2019 and 2023, Union Minister of State for Home Nityanad Rai responded in written reply to a query.
“Eight of the 15 were declared as unlawful associations in 2019, one each in 2020, 2021 and 2022, and four this year till date,” the Minister said.
Students Islamic Movement of India(SIMI); United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA); National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB); Meitei Extremist Organizations, namely- Peoples’ Liberation Army (PLA) and its political wing, the Revolutionary People’s Front (RPF), United National Liberation Front (UNLF) and its armed wing, the Manipur Peoples’ Army (MPA), Peoples’ Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK) and its Armed wing, the ‘Red Army’.; Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP) and its armed wing, also called the ‘Red Army’, Kanglei Yaol Kanba Lup (KYKL), Coordination Committee (CorCom) and Alliance for Socialist Unity Kangleipak (ASUK); All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF); National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT); Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC); Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE); National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang) [NSCN (K)]; Islamic Research Foundation (IRF); Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), Jammu and Kashmir; Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (Mohd. Yasin Malik faction); Sikhs for Justice (SFJ); Popular Front of India (PFI) and its associates or affiliates or fronts including Rehab India Foundation (RIF), Campus Front of India (CFI), All India Imams Council (AIIC), National
Confederation of Human Rights Organisation (NCHRO), National Women’s Front, Junior Front, Empower India Foundation and Rehab Foundation, Kerala; and Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party (JKDFP).
The Minister further said that concerted and coordinated actions under the provisions of the UAPA Act, 1967, by all the stakeholders have positively impacted containing terrorism-related crime to a large extent in the country.
The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA) provides for the more effective prevention of certain unlawful activities of individuals and associations and for dealing with terrorist activities. The act, inter-alia, criminalizes unlawful activities, membership of unlawful associations as well as dealing with funds of such associations, terrorist act, raising funds for terrorist acts or terrorist organizations, organizing terrorists camps, holding proceeds of terrorism, membership or support to a terrorist organization and provides for forfeiture of proceeds of terrorism or any property intended to be used for terrorism and for dealing with acts threatening economic security of the country.
Among the salient features of the amendment in 2019 in the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 is to designate individual terrorists under the Indian legal system and meets international obligations. The Central government has now been empowered to designate individual terrorists.
In cases investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the Director General of the NIA has been empowered to grant approval for seizure and attachment of the property representing proceeds of terrorism, to quicken the investigation and contain the chances of manipulation of such properties by the accused persons.
Further, inspectors of the NIA have been empowered to investigate offences under chapters IV and VI of the Act.
The International Convention for Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism (2005) has been included in Schedule II of the Act to meet international obligations.
