Asaduddin Owaisi slammed the Congress for the party's role in, what he calls, strengthening the stringent provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
NEW DELHI — All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi has alleged that the amendments to the UAPA introduced by Congress, when P Chidambaram was the Union Home Minister, have resulted in ‘prolonged incarceration’ of undertrial prisoners, including scholars Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam.
He slammed the Congress for the party’s role in, what he calls, strengthening the stringent provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
The statement followed the Supreme Court’s recent refusal to grant bail to Umar Khalid in the 2020 Delhi riots case.
The Hyderabad MP asserted that the amendments made during the Congress-led UPA government are responsible for prolonged detentions.
Speaking at an event in Dhule, Maharashtra on Thursday, Owaisi said “the Supreme Court did not grant bail to two undertrial accused, and the Supreme Court explained why it did not grant bail. During the UPA government, the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act was amended, and included a definition of what constitutes terrorism,” ANI reported.
Owaisi recalled his earlier warnings in Parliament. He had questioned subjective clauses within the UAPA, arguing they were open to misuse. He referenced Section 15, which defines terrorist acts through broad terms like actions taken “by any other means of whatever nature.”
Owaisi connected the same legal phrasing to the bail denial for Umar Khalid and another undertrial, Sharjeel Imam. Both have been in jail for over five years. He also criticised clause 43D of the UAPA. This provision allows for up to 180 days of detention without a chargesheet.
He claimed the maximum period is consistently used in cases involving minorities.
The Supreme Court on January 5 refused to grant bail to student activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in the alleged “larger conspiracy” case linked to the 2020 Delhi riots. However, the apex court granted bail to Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa-ur-Rehman, Mohd Saleem Khan and Shadab Ahmed, all of whom have been in custody for more than five years.
Pronouncing the judgment, a Bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and Prasanna B. Varale said that the prosecution material disclosed a prima facie case against Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, thereby attracting the statutory bar to bail under Section 43D(5) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
