NEW DELHI: The latest report by the Forum for Human Rights in Jammu and Kashmir reveals a disturbing escalation in arrests under stringent laws in the region, with journalists and civilians alike falling victim to what appears to be systemic misuse of legal provisions.
According to the report, over 2,700 people were booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and Public Safety Act (PSA) between 2020 and December 2023. Of these, 1,100 were labeled as “overground workers” or facilitators of armed insurgents.
The report cites National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data showing that Jammu and Kashmir had the highest number of offences against the state among Union Territories in 2022, with 421 cases, including 371 under the UAPA. This accounts for a staggering 36.9% of all UAPA cases in India that year.
The media community has been particularly hardest hit. As of January 19, 2024, four out of seven journalists jailed in India were from Jammu and Kashmir, with two booked under the UAPA and two under the PSA. The report details several recent arrests of journalists.
In September 2023, Majid Hyderi, an independent journalist, was detained under the PSA on charges of criminal conspiracy, intimidation, extortion, and defamation. Reporters Without Borders described Hyderi as having moderate views but noted his frequent criticisms of corruption and human rights abuses by security forces.
Irfan Mehraj, a journalist and human rights activist arrested under the UAPA in March 2023, remains in prison despite repeated calls for his release by civil society groups.
Sajad Gul, arrested in January 2022 under the PSA, remains incarcerated even after the Jammu and Kashmir High Court quashed his PSA detention, deeming the detention order “vague.” The report notes that Gul was never given the FIRs registered against him or other pertinent documents.
The case of Fahad Shah, owner and editor of the banned Kashmir Walla, is particularly noteworthy. Shah was released on bail in November 2023 after over 600 days in prison. While charges against him under Section 18 of the UAPA and Sections 121 and 153-B of the IPC were quashed, others under Sections 13 of the UAPA and 35 and 39 of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act remain.
The court’s ruling on the quashed charges stated that upholding them “would mean that any criticism of the central government can be described as a terrorist act because the honour of India is its incorporeal property.”
The Kashmir Walla news website was banned in August 2023 under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000. Not only was the website taken down, but the news site was evicted from its office space, and its social media accounts were blocked. This is not the first time the Kashmir Walla was targeted. In 2022, the office and Shah’s residence were raided by the Jammu and Kashmir State Investigative Agency (SIA).
Perhaps the most striking case is that of Asif Sultan, former assistant editor of Kashmir Narrator. Arrested in August 2018 for a story on a militant commander, Sultan has spent five years in jail, facing a cycle of arrests, releases, and re-arrests under various charges including the UAPA and PSA.
In December 2023, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court quashed his detention under the PSA. The authorities failed to supply Sultan with the documents used to book him, thus rendering the detention illegal. He was eventually released two months later, at the end of February 2024. He was re-arrested a day after on charges under the UAPA and an incident of alleged rioting in Srinagar’s Central Jail.
Most recently, in May 2024, he was released after a special judge ruled that Sultan was incarcerated “without any reasonable justification.” However, his release comes with stringent conditions, including furnishing a bail bond worth ₹100,000.
The misuse of UAPA and PSA extends beyond journalists. The report highlights several troubling incidents.
In November 2023, seven Kashmiri students were arrested under the UAPA for allegedly celebrating India’s loss at a men’s Cricket World Cup match. While the UAPA charges were dropped a month later, the incident underscores the broad and potentially arbitrary application of these laws.
In early July 2024, two prominent members of the Kashmir Bar Association – chairperson Nazir Ahmad Ronga and former General Secretary Mohammad Ashraf Bhat – were arrested under the PSA. The timing of these arrests, just as the Bar Association was planning to hold long-deferred elections, raises questions about the motivations behind these detentions.
In the same month, four participants in a Muharram procession were arrested under the UAPA for carrying Palestinian and Hezbollah flags, prompting Srinagar MP Aga Ruhullah Mehdi to question whether such acts truly fall under the purview of anti-terror legislation.
The report also notes the case of Abdul Aala Fazili, a student at the University of Kashmir, who remains in prison after being arrested for writing an article alleged to glorify terrorism and spread fake news.
The reports also draw attention to Kashmir-related prosecution outside Jammu and Kashmir.
In June 2024, the Lieutenant-Governor of Delhi, Vinai Kumar Saxena, sanctioned the prosecution of a 14-year-old case against writer Arundathi Roy and Professor Sheikh Showkat Hussain under the UAPA. The complaint was filed by businessman and Kashmiri Pandit activist Sushil Pandit, who alleged that Roy and Hussain made provocative speeches at a conference titled ‘Azadi – The Only Way’ in October 2010.
These incidents, according to the Forum’s report, paint a disturbing picture of the state of civil liberties in Jammu and Kashmir. The broad application of UAPA and PSA against journalists, students, lawyers, and even religious procession participants suggests a pattern of using these laws to suppress dissent and control the narrative in the region.
The report concludes that this trend of arrests and legal actions against journalists and civilians raises serious concerns about fundamental rights, including freedom of the press, freedom of expression, and the right to a fair trial in Jammu and Kashmir. The use of stringent laws like UAPA and PSA appears to be creating a chilling effect on independent journalism and civil society in the region, potentially undermining democratic norms and human rights.
Positive Court Interventions
The FHRJK Report also analysed some court rulings related to the arrests and noted some encouraging signs.
It pointed out that the Jammu and Kashmir High Court has recently taken a firmer stance against the misuse of draconian laws such as the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and Public Safety Act (PSA). This shift follows remarks by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud on the need for judges to apply their minds when ruling on bail, especially given potential fears of targeting among district court judges, it maintained.
The Forum for Human Rights in Jammu and Kashmir reports several notable rulings.
In April 2024, Justice Rahul Bharti quashed the detention of Jaffar Ahmad Parray, who was booked under the PSA as a “hardcore OGW” of militant groups. Justice Bharti ordered Parray’s immediate release, stating that “India is not a police state.”
Also in April, Justice Bharti upheld a plea for compensation for illegal detention filed by Advocate Zahid Ali, spokesman of the banned Jamaat-e-Islami Kashmir. The court ordered the administration to pay ₹5 lakh, marking the first time the state was ordered to compensate someone detained under the PSA.
In May 2024, Justice Sreedharan granted bail to Khursheed Ahmad Lone, arrested under the UAPA. Quoting Voltaire, the judge warned against the misuse of “internal security” as justification for oppression.
In July, Justice Bharti nullified a preventive detention order under the PSA for failing to establish that the accused posed a threat to state security.
Also in July, Justice Sanjay Dhar quashed three preventive detention orders on various grounds, including failure to supply documents, vague charges, and unreasonable delay in considering the detenu’s plea.
These rulings suggest a growing judicial scrutiny of the application of UAPA and PSA in Jammu and Kashmir. However, the report notes that in July 2024, Chief Justice N Kotiswar Singh and Justice Moksha Khajuria upheld detention under the PSA despite allegations of procedural lapses, indicating that challenges remain in addressing the misuse of these laws.
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