Arrests Under UAPA Increase But Conviction As Low As 3 Percent; Most Cases From UP, J&K: Govt Data
Among states, UP recorded the highest number of arrests (1,122) under UAPA in 2023, while J&K recorded the highest (1,206) arrests in the same year.
Published : December 3, 2025 at 10:59 AM IST
New Delhi: From 1,948 in 2019 to 2,914 in 2023, the number of arrests made under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) has seen a steady rise across the country, even though the overall conviction rate in these cases remains as low as just 3 per cent, according to the data shared by the Centre in the ongoing winter session of the Parliament.
Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai, in a written reply in Lok Sabha on Tuesday to a question asked by Congress MP Shafi Parambil, said a total of 2,914 individuals were arrested under UAPA in 2023, compared to 1,948 in 2019, marking a nearly 50 per cent increase. A total of 10,440 individuals were arrested under the UAPA from 2019 to 2023 from across 28 states and eight Union Territories, the data shows. Only 335 convictions (3.2 per cent) were made during the period.
"National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) compiles the data on crime and publishes the same in its annual publication 'Crime in India'. The latest published data available is till 2023," the minister said in his reply.
After an initial dip to 1,321 arrests in 2020, the numbers grew to 1,621 in 2021 before nearly doubling to 2,636 in 2022. As for convictions, from 34 in 2019, the number rose to just 118 in 2023, indicating that cases continue to remain under prolonged judicial scrutiny.
At 1,122, Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest number of arrests under UAPA in 2023, followed by Assam (154), Manipur (130), Meghalaya (71), Punjab (50), Bihar (34), and Jharkhand (29). Of the 1,122 arrests in UP, only 75 resulted in convictions.
At the Union Territory level, Jammu and Kashmir tops the list with 1,206 arrests under UAPA charges in 2023, with just 10 resulting in convictions. The number of arrests and convictions in the UT in 2022 was 1,238 and 11, respectively. In 2021, 2020 and 2019, the number of arrests and convictions were 645 and 0, 346 and 2, and 227 and 0, respectively.
The UAPA is India's primary counterterrorism legislation aimed at preventing activities that threaten the sovereignty and integrity of the nation. First enacted in 1967, the law was originally designed to curb secessionist movements and safeguard national security.
Over the decades, the Act has undergone significant amendments to strengthen its enforcement scope, especially in response to evolving forms of terrorism and extremism.
A significant 2019 amendment in the Act expanded the government's powers, allowing it to designate individuals as "terrorists" in addition to organisations. Under the Act, the central government designates an organisation as a terrorist organisation if it commits or participates in acts of terrorism, prepares for terrorism, promotes terrorism, or is otherwise involved in terrorism.
The amendments also enhanced investigative authority, extended permissible detention periods, and allowed the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to take over cases involving national security without the state government's consent.
Critics, however, have questioned the UAPA since it gives the central government the sole discretion to designate individuals as terrorists, without any judicial review or opportunity for appeal. The law practically shifts the burden of proof to the accused, as against an ordinary criminal law where an accused is considered innocent until proven guilty, and bail is the norm, while jail is the exception.
Section 43D(5) of the UAPA significantly alters this principle. Part of the section reads: "The accused person shall not be released on bail or on his own bond if the Court, on a perusal of the case diary or the report made under section 173 of the Code is of the opinion that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the accusation against such person is prima facie true."
In February 2024, a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court held, while dismissing the bail application of a man booked under the UAPA, that "jail is the rule and bail is the exception in UAPA cases".
Same year, the UN Human Rights Office had expressed concern about the use of the UAPA to silence critics in India. "We are concerned about the use of the UAPA anti-terror law to silence critics. We repeat our call for a review of the law and the release of human rights defenders detained under it," the UN Human Rights Office said.
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