Nearly 3,000 arrests were recorded under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, or UAPA, in 2023, even as convictions remained low, the government told Parliament on Tuesday.
In a written response to a question in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai said 2,914 people were arrested across the country in 2023 under UAPA. Only 118 were convicted, according to data compiled by the National Crime Records Bureau.
Compiling the data shows that only 335 persons have been convicted between 2019-2023, while 10,440 people were arrested during this period, a 3.2% conviction rate.
The figures were provided in response to a question by Congress MP Shafi Parambil, who sought state-wise numbers of those arrested, convicted and currently imprisoned under the law over the past five years.
Rai said policing and investigation fall under the purview of state governments, and the Centre relies on NCRB’s annual Crime in India report for national statistics. Data on individuals currently lodged in prisons under UAPA charges is not maintained by the NCRB, he added.
Uttar Pradesh reported the highest number of arrests in 2023 with 1,122, followed by Jammu and Kashmir with 1,206. Several states, including Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Sikkim, reported no arrests during the five years cited, 2019-2023.
Conviction rates remained low nationwide, with several states reporting zero convictions in multiple years despite high arrest numbers. In 2023, Delhi reported 24 convictions, the highest among Union Territories, while Uttar Pradesh secured 75 convictions.
Overall, arrests under the law have risen sharply in recent years, from 1,621 in 2021 to 2,636 in 2022 and 2,914 in 2023.
The UAPA, India’s primary counterterrorism legislation, has been widely criticised by rights groups for its stringent bail provisions and its broad definition of unlawful activity, which critics say has led to misuse. The government has repeatedly defended the law as essential for national security.
