Congress leader Pawan Khera on Wednesday strongly criticised the government for the ”misuse of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA)”, alleging that “Under the Modi government, law has increasingly been used to stifle dissent and delay justice.”

Between 2014 and 2022, only 2.55 per cent of the 8,719 UAPA cases resulted in convictions, indicating a clear pattern of abuse, Congress party’s Media & Publicity Department chairman Pawan Khera said in a post on social media handle X.

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“Between 2014 and 2022, 8,719 UAPA cases yielded only a 2.55 per cent conviction rate, exposing its misuse to target critics, students, journalists, and activists. Pre-trial presumption of guilt, social media and media-driven trials, and the recent trend of dismissing habeas corpus petitions by the Supreme Court deepen this crisis of justice,” Khera asserted.

Recounting several cases of UAPA misuse, Khera cited ”the case of Anand Teltumbde, Nodeep Kaur, and Mahesh Raut, who were arrested under UAPA in the Bhima Koregaon case. Student activists Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, and Safoora Zargar were arrested under UAPA for their alleged involvement in the anti-CAA protests. Journalists Fahad Shah and Irfan Mehraj were arrested under the UAPA for their reporting. Prabir Purkayastha and Amit Chakravarty, who were arrested under UAPA in a foreign funding case related to NewsClick in 2023.”

While Anand Teltumbde was released after serving 3 years in jail, Nodeep Kaur was granted bail the same year she was arrested, but she was allegedly beaten and sexually assaulted while in custody. Mahesh Raut has been in prison since 2018, Khera said.

As regards Student activists Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, and Safoora Zargar, Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam have been in jail since 2020, he further noted.

”In the case of journalists Fahad Shah, Irfan Mehraj, Prabir Purkayastha, and Amit Chakravarty, Fahad Shah was released after 600 days. The rest continue to languish in jails,” Khera pointed out.

“These are just fragments of a far more entrenched rot. In reality, most of these are cases of vendetta against those challenging this government. Courts repeatedly highlight this abuse. Delhi HC explicitly stated, ‘Protest cannot be terrorism,’ releasing Devangana Kalita, Natasha Narwal, and Asif Tanha. SC freed journalist Zubair and climate activist Disha Ravi, criticising arrests as attempts to stifle free speech,” Khera stated in his lengthy post.