The RTI filed with the government had request sought details about the number of applications received through the indiancitizenshiponline.nic.in portal, the number of people granted citizenship under the CAA, and the number of pending applications. However, the MHA stated that no such data was being maintained, citing the provisions of the Citizenship Act, 1955, and the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, which do not require records to be kept of citizenship applications. Similarly, in response to an RTI filed by Maharashtra resident Ajay Bose on April 15, 2024. The MHA reiterated that there was no obligation to maintain such records, and as per the RTI Act, the CPIO is not authorized to create new information, treating the requested data as unavailable.

The MHA notified the CAA rules on March 11, 2024, enabling the implementation of the Act just before the 2024 general elections. The CAA, passed by Parliament on December 11, 2019, provides a pathway for undocumented migrants from six non-Muslim communities—Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians—who came from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, or Pakistan before December 31, 2014, to apply for Indian citizenship. The Act also reduces the residency requirement for citizenship from 11 years to five years for these particular communities, leaving out certain other communities such as Muslims.

It is essential to highlight here that while the total number of beneficiaries under the CAA remains uncertain, Union Home Minister Amit Shah stated during a Rajya Sabha debate on December 11, 2019, that “lakhs and crores” of people would benefit. However, the Director of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) presented a more conservative figure, testifying before a parliamentary committee that around 31,000 individuals would be the immediate beneficiaries. According to a parliamentary report tabled on January 7, 2019, 31,313 individuals from minority communities had been issued long-term visas based on their claims of religious persecution in their home countries. These include 25,447 Hindus, 5,807 Sikhs, 55 Christians, 2 Buddhists, and 2 Parsis, who were expected to be immediate beneficiaries of the CAA.

On May 15, 2024, a press release by the MHA provided that the first set of citizenship certificates under the CAA was issued to 14 people. Additionally, the MHA had also specified that many other applicants are being given digitally signed certificates through email. As per The Hindu, more than 300 people who applied under the CAA have been granted citizenship.

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BJP’s Tathagata Roy calls for CAA procedures to conduct genitalia check to confirm religion

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As per the statement, the MHA provided that “The process of granting citizenship certificates under the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024 has now commenced in the state of West Bengal, where the first set of applications from the State were today granted citizenship by the Empowered Committee, West Bengal. Similarly, the Empowered Committees of the states of Haryana and Uttarakhand have also granted citizenship today to the first set of applicants in their respective States, under the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024.”

It is to be noted that the number of people to whom the citizenship certificates were granted have not been mentioned. As per a report of the Hindu, a source had provided that at least eight Hindu migrants from Bangladesh were granted citizenship in West Bengal. It is crucial to highlight here that in the upcoming seventh phase of voting for the Lok Sabha elections on June 1, which is also going to be the last phase, votes will be casted in at least nine constituencies of the state of West Bengal. These parliamentary constituencies are Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Jaynagar, Mathurapur, Diamond Harbour, Jadavpur, Kolkata Dakshin, Kolkata Uttar.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee have ardently been opposing the CAA a, according to her, it curtails constitutional rights of the people and promotes religion-based discrimination. The union government, and especially Union home minister Amit Shah, had on multiple occasions asserted that CM Mamata Banerjee won’t be able to stop the BJP government from implementing CAA in West Bengal.

This is the second time that the MHA has granted citizenship to a group of eligible candidates since the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024 were notified on March 11, 2024. Prior to this, on May 15, a press release by the MHA had provided that the first set of citizenship certificates under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) was issued to more than 300 people. A total of 14 people were physically handed over the certificates. Previously too, the country of origin of the applicants was not made known in the press release. The report of The Hindu had provided that a government source had suggested that most applicants were Pakistani Hindus.

The Rules grant the final authority to accord citizenship to an empowered committee headed by a Director, Census Operations. The scrutiny of applications filed online on indiancitizenshiponline.nic.in was done by a district-level committee (DLC) headed by postal department officials. The Rules say that the applicants must provide any of nine specified documents tracing their roots to Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. On successful verification of documents, the DLCs administered the oath of allegiance to the applicants. The portal is said to have received more than 25,000 applications so far.

Related:

First set of citizenship certificates issued to over 300 under CAA: MHA

Kolkata man commits suicide, family claims CAA rules led him to it

CAA: An attempt to legitimise expansionist nationalism

CAA disregards India’s inclusive plural ethos, ‘betrays’ ideals of freedom struggle: PUCL

Government notifies CAA regulations, opposition decries it as a means to polarise voters

The post MHA grants citizenship to applicants from West Bengal, Haryana, Uttarakhand; number of those granted citizenship not revealed appeared first on SabrangIndia.

It is essential to note that the ministry has also specified that many other applicants are being given digitally signed certificates through email. As per the Hindu, more than 300 people who applied under the CAA have been granted citizenship. While the country of origin of the applicants was not made known in the press release, the report of The Hindu provided that a government source had suggested that most applicants were Pakistani Hindus.

As per media reports, while disbursing the certificates, Mr. Bhalla highlighted the salient features of the Citizenship Amendment Rules, 2024, through which the implementation of the CAA was ensured. The Rules grant the final authority to accord citizenship to an empowered committee headed by the Director, Census Operations, while the scrutiny of applications filed online on the portal indiancitizenshiponline.nic.in was done by a district level committee (DLC) headed by Department of Post officials. On successful verification of documents, the DLCs administered the oath of allegiance to the applicants. The portal is said to have received over 25,000 applications so far, as provided by The Hindu. The Secretary, Posts; the Director, Intelligence Bureau; the Registrar General of India, and senior officers were also present during the interactive session.

The press release by the MHA can be read here:

Related:

Kolkata man commits suicide, family claims CAA rules led him to it

CAA: An attempt to legitimise expansionist nationalism

CAA disregards India’s inclusive plural ethos, ‘betrays’ ideals of freedom struggle: PUCL

Government notifies CAA regulations, opposition decries it as a means to polarise voters

The post First set of citizenship certificates issued to over 300 under CAA: MHA appeared first on SabrangIndia.

“The central government, having regard to the circumstances, is further of opinion that it is necessary to declare the Meitei extremist organisations… as ‘unlawful associations’ and accordingly, in exercise of the powers conferred by the proviso to sub-section (3) of section 3 of the said Act, the central government hereby directs that this notification shall, subject to any order that may be made under section 4 of the said Act, have effect from the 13th day of November, 2023, for a period of five years,” it said.

As per the notification, the eight organisations are the Peoples’ Liberation Army generally known as PLA, and its political wing, the Revolutionary Peoples’ Front (RPF), the United National Liberation Front (UNLF) and its armed wing, the Manipur Peoples’ Army (MPA), the Peoples’ Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK) and its armed wing, the ‘Red Army’, the Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP) and its armed wing, also called the ‘Red Army’, the Kanglei Yaol Kanba Lup (KYKL), the Coordination Committee (CorCom) and the Alliance for Socialist Unity Kangleipak (ASUK).

Further, the notification added that the Central government is of the opinion that the outfits have been engaging in activities prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India; employing and engaging in armed means to achieve their objectives, attacking and killing the security forces, police and civilians in Manipur; indulging in acts of intimidation, extortion and looting of civilian population for collection of funds; making contacts with sources abroad for influencing public opinion and for securing their assistance by way of arms and training for the purpose of achieving their secessionist objective and maintaining camps in neighbouring countries for the purpose of sanctuaries, training and clandestine procurement of arms and ammunition.

It also said that the Central government is of the opinion that the activities of the organisations are detrimental to the sovereignty and integrity of India and that they are unlawful associations. It said if there is no immediate curb and control the activities, they will take the opportunity to “mobilise their cadres for escalating their secessionist, subversive, terrorist and violent activities; propagate anti-national activities in collusion with forces inimical to sovereignty and integrity of India; indulge in killings of civilians and targeting of the police and security force personnel; procure and induct illegal arms and ammunitions from across the international border; and extort and collect huge funds from public for their unlawful activities.”

A 2018 notification declaring the ban against the outfits said the groups were involved in 756 violent incidents from January1, 2013- July 31, 2018 and killed 86 persons including 35 security personnel during the same period. The Monday’s notification omitted reference to the number of violent incidents the organisations were involved in the past five years.

A senior government official said the role of the eight organisations in the ongoing ethnic violence in Manipur has also been found.

Earlier, on September 23, NIA had arrested M Anand Singh, a former cadre of PLA from Imphal.

The agency alleged that Myanmar-based leaders of insurgent groups and proscribed terrorist organisations were recruiting over ground workers (OGW), cadre, and sympathisers to augment their strength for carrying out attacks on security forces and opponent ethnic groups.

At least 175 people have been killed and thousands have been displaced in the ethnic violence between the tribal Kuki-Zo and Meitei people since May 3.

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Manipur HC directs state government to allow internet in areas with no ethnic violence on a trial basis

Manipur: 10 MLAs call out the excessive use of force against the Kuki-Zo community

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Of a total of 1,15,203 complaints it received against Union government employees, the CVC said that 46,643 (~41%) were against home affairs ministry employees.

The railways sector was at a distant second with 10,580 (9%) complaints against its employees.“Banks” employees were a source of 8,129 complaints, the Delhi government of 7,370 and “Coal” of 4,304.

Interestingly, the CVC is an apex anti-corruption agency that oversees the vigilance administration of Union government organisations.

Established in the spirit that the “administration [cannot] be a judge of its own conduct”, the CVC is not controlled by any Union ministry and is responsible only to parliament.

Notably, among other functions, it provides ‘vigilance clearances’ to certain senior government officials and processes complaints against government employees, following which it communicates its advice on action to be taken in appropriate cases.

However, the commission said in its most recent annual report that there had been “significant deviations” or non-compliance with its advice.

“In some cases of officers covered under the Commission’s jurisdiction, either the prescribed consultation mechanism with the Commission was not adhered to, or the authorities concerned did not accept the Commission’s advice,” it stated in the report.

“Further, there have been instances where the advice tendered by the Commission has been substantially diluted without approaching the Commission for reconsideration of its advice, as per extant procedure,” it continued to say.

One example the CVC gave of improper following of procedure with its advice was the delaying of taking action against some delinquent officers.

“Some organisations take more than the prescribed time for implementation of Commission’s advice which includes delay in issuance of charge sheet. Sometimes, the delinquent officer is allowed to retire, and the misconduct becomes time barred for initiation of departmental action,” the watchdog said.

In one of the appendices to its annual report, the commission recorded the type of punishment that was given to government employees from various sectors following penalty proceedings in 2022.

As for the Union home affairs ministry, the commission said that the following punishments were given to its employees after major penalty proceedings:

Photo: cvc.gov.in

A majority of employees in these cases had no action taken against them, unspecified “major penalties” handed out, or were given warnings.

And the following are the results of minor proceedings against home affairs employees:

No action was taken against employees in the vast majority of minor penalty proceedings.

The Union home affairs ministry is currently led by BJP leader Amit Shah.

Related:

From our ancestors to modern leaders, all do it: the story of corruption

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The notification in the gazette dated June 27 states, “In pursuance of sub-clause (ii) of clause (b) of sub-section (4) of section 4 of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016 (18 of 2016) read with rule 5 of the Aadhaar Authentication for Good Governance (Social Welfare, Innovation, Knowledge) Rules, 2020, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has allowed Office of Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India to perform Aadhaar authentication for registration of births and deaths.”

Section 4 (4) of the Aadhar Act states that:

(4) An entity may be allowed to perform authentication, if the Authority is satisfied that the requesting entity is—

(b)…(ii) seeking authentication for such purpose, as the Central Government in consultation with the Authority, and in the interest of State, may prescribe.

This means that the Registrar will be allowed to perform Yes or No Aadhaar authentication, on voluntary basis, for verification of Aadhaar number being collected along with other details as sought in the reporting forms of births or deaths in order to establish the identity of child, parent and the informant in case of births, and of the parent, spouse and the informant in case of deaths during registration of births or deaths.

IN November 2021, the Ministry of Home Affairs floated proposed amendments to the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 which entailed a national database of records of births and deaths and linking Aadhar information to the same. The MHA had also expressed its intent to use this data to update the much opposed National Population Register (NPR). The Ministry had stated that the data will be used for updating NPR, Electoral Registers, Aadhar Database, Ration card database, Passport Database as well as the driving license database.

Why is centralization of this data a problem?

The Centre has clearly stated that this data will be used for updating NPR, Electoral Registers, Aadhar Database, Ration card database, Passport Database as well as the driving license database. This means, the Centre will be able to track births, deaths,

The Centre will have a record of all the registered deaths and will use the same to update NPR which will in turn be used to make the nation wide NRC. However, the question arises, what about those births that are not registered?

Based on information received from 32 States/UTs, the share of institutional births to total registered births is 81.2 percent. This means that despite institutional births, there are loopholes whereby registration of births has been missed out.

MHA notification can be read here.

Related:

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Centralising record of deaths and births: Centre’s play at a future NRC?

Census is not a priority for the Union government

Identifying fake Aadhaar, a plot to bring in CAA-NRC?

The post MHA authorises Registrar General to authenticate Aadhar for birth and death registration appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Ahead of the Hanuman Jayanti festival to be on April 6, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) released an advisory on April 5, asking states to ensure law and order and monitor factors that could disturb “communal harmony in society”. The advisory comes in the wake of a series of incidents of communal violence reported on the occasion of Ram Navami last week, on March 30 to April 1, from the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand.

The Ministry said in a tweet on Wednesday, “MHA has issued an advisory to all States in preparation for Hanuman Jayanti. The governments are encouraged to ensure the maintenance of law and order, peaceful observance of the festival, and monitoring of any factors that could disturb communal harmony in society.”

During the occasion of Ram Navami, many districts of West Bengal reported Incidents of violence, anti-Muslim hate speech, arson and stone pelting. The State witnessed chaos and disharmony on March 30 in Howrah where several vehicles were torched and shops ransacked. A day after at Rishra area in neighbouring Hooghly district, clashes were reported in West during a Ram Navami procession in which BJP national vice president Dilip Ghosh and party’s Pursurah MLA Biman Ghosh were present. The MLA was injured and hospitalised. Parts of the nearby Serampore also witnessed incidents of vandalism following which prohibitory orders were imposed and internet services suspended.

On April 4, the Ministry had sought a detailed report from the West Bengal government following a letter by Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) State president Sukanta Majumdar to Home Minister Amit Shah, where he alleged police inaction. He blamed the State Director General of Police Manoj Malaviya for harassing members of the Hindu community while turning a blind eye to the criminals and culprits from the minority community.

Calcutta HC directs Bengal government to requisition central forces to maintain peace

On April 5, the Calcutta High Court directed the West Bengal government to requisition central forces for assisting the state police in maintaining peace during Hanuman Jayanti celebrations. The court said in view of events in the recent past, during Ram Navami, the order was being given to assure the general public that they are safe and will not be affected by any disturbance.

The High Court has ordered the state government that the Central forces has to be deployed in the sensitive areas where there is a chance of violence during upcoming Hanuman Jayanti. The court has observed that the government must ensure the security of the common people as the top priority. The state has responded to the High Court stating that they are ready to deploy paramilitary forces.

No political leader should make any comments that disturbs peace and harmony, the order also observed. Notably, amid the imposition of section 144, there are still tensions across several areas in the state.

On April 3, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had claimed there are plans afoot for another round of violence in the State on Thursday, April 6, when the nation celebrates Hanuman Jayanti. According to her, several rallies and processions by religious and civil society groups are planned across the country on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti. 

Observing that prevention is better than cure, a division bench presided by Acting Chief Justice T S Sivagnanam directed the West Bengal government to requisition central forces to avoid any breach of peace when Hanuman Jayanti rallies are taken out on Thursday.

The court also directed the Centre to make swift arrangements for such deployment on receipt of requisition from the state.

As provided by Bar and Bench, Advocate General S N Mookherjee told the court that around 2,000 applications have been received by the police in the state for holding Hanuman Jayanti rallies. The order came on a PIL filed by Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari.

2019 MHA Advisory

On January 17, 2019 also, a Special Advisory had been issued by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (No. V-11026/71/2016-Arms) for “Restraining misuse of firearms for celebratory purpose” In this advisory, the MHA has drawn attention to an concerns raised by the Hon’ble Delhi High Court in its order dated September 13, 2017 passed in WP (C) No. 4057/2016 & WP (C) No. 10283/2016 regarding loss of precious lives, grievous injuries and loss of property caused due to illegal celebratory firing in marriages, public gatherings, religious places / processions, parties, political rallies etc

This 2019 MHA Advisory drew attention to the “appropriate provisions are enshrined in Chapter IV and Chapter V of the Arms Act, 1959 and Chapter IV of the Arms Rules, 2016 for curbing illegal uses of firearms which are to be enforced by the State/UT Police and suitable penal actions are to be initiated in case of any infringement of referred provisions occurs. In addition, Form-III of the Arms Rule-2016 under which individual arms licences are issued, subject to restriction on the licences, inter-alia, not to resort to brandishing of fire arms in public place and carrying or discharge a fire arm in built up area or any public place on the occasion of marriage, public assembly, fair or procession or any public event. Nevertheless incidents of loss of precious lives, grievous injuries and loss of property with the use of licenses as well as unlicensed firearms takes place on account of celebratory firing which is a matter of grave concern.

Further the advisory also stated that since ‘Police and Public Order are the subject matter of States/UT under the Constitution, therefore, the effective enforcement of Law/Rules/advisories laid down by Central Government is the responsibility of the States/UT. In this regard, Ministry of Home Affairs has already issued advisory on the subject matter vide letter no. V-11026/71/2016-Arms dated 16.06.2016 (copy enclosed at Annexure-2 of the advisory).

The MHA advisory directed that states must “ensure that strict legal actions are taken, as per the provisions contained in the Arms Act, 1959, the Arms Rules, 2016 and other relevant provisions of IPC and Cr.PC, against the person(s) indulged in the illegal practices of celebratory firing in marriages, public gatherings, religious places / processions, parties, political rallies etc. so as to curb such incidences. Further, licences of such perpetrators or any licences who violates the provisions of Arms Act,1959, the Arms Rules, 2016, to be cancelled in accordance with the law.” It is crucial that this advisory which clearly seems to have remained on paper, unimplemented even in the capital of Delhi where the police report directly to the Union Home Ministry, is implemented.

Several if not all such processions in recent times have witnessed the phenomenon of arms being brandished while the processions are on and hence we thought it fit to bring this to your notice.

Tragically despite such repeated advisories states continue to experience violence during processions that are becoming increasingly belligerent and aggressive, making a mockery of the festivals they are supposed to celebrate.

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What was CJP’s PIL seeking directions for implementation of law for regulation of religious processions all about?

Ram Navami: West Bengal administration on alert as 2000 celebrations planned

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The post Hot on the heels of the violence of Ram Navami, MHA issues advisory to states to ensure law and order during Hanuman Jayanti celebration appeared first on SabrangIndia.

On December 13, 2022, during the ongoing Winter Session of the Parliament, Lok Sabha Members Shri Kunwar Pushpendra Singh Chandel (BJP) and Shrimati Mala Rajya Laxmi Shah (BJP) raised the question of whether the Government has taken any measures to protect the rights and lives of minority Kashmiri Pandits in the country in view of the frequent attacks on them. They also asked to be provided with the details of the policy measures being undertaken for the welfare of Hindus minorities in Kashmir.

The Minister of the Ministry Of Home Affairs, Shri Nityanand Rai, responded to the said question by informing the Lok Sabha that “The Government has a policy of zero tolerance against terrorism. The Government has taken several measures to ensure safety of Kashmiri Pandits in the valley. These include a robust security and intelligence grid, day & night area domination, patrolling and proactive operations against terrorists, round the clock checking at Nakas, deployment of Road Opening Parties at strategic points to thwart any terrorists attack.”

The government then went on to state that “2,639 Government jobs have been provided to Kashmiri Migrants under Prime Minister’s Development Package (PMDP), 2015. Government has also approved construction of 6000 units of transit accommodations for Kashmiri Migrant employees engaged/to be engaged in different Departments of Government of Jammu and Kashmir in the valley. Further, the Government of Jammu and Kashmir has launched a portal on 7.9.2021 to address the grievances of Kashmiri Migrants. The Government of India reimburses the expenditure incurred by the Government of Jammu and Kashmir on providing the following facilities to the eligible Kashmiri migrants settled in Jammu:

(i) Monthly cash relief at the current rate of Rs. 3250 per person with the ceiling of Rs. 13,000/- per family; and

(ii) Monthly dry ration of 9 kg rice, 2 kg Atta per head and 1 kg sugar per family.

In the case of Kashmiri migrants settled in Delhi, the Government of India reimburses the expenditure incurred by the Government of NCT of Delhi (GNCTD) on the monthly cash relief of Rs. 3250/- per person out of which the share of GNCTD is Rs. 1000/- per person.”

The answer can be read here:

Has the Government Actually been able to protect the Kashmiri Pandits?

On December 6, 2022, Peoples’ Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti had accused the BJP of “exploiting the pain and suffering” of Kashmiri Pandits and said the government had failed to protect the minority community in Kashmir.

“This government has failed to protect Kashmiri Pandits. It is only exploiting the pain and suffering of the community for its own benefits. It is not serious about their problems,” Mufti had told reporters at Qazigund in Anantnag district.[1]

This comment was made by her in reference to the leakage of a list of Kashmiri Pandit employees posted in Kashmir. She had said that it was unfortunate that such information was being made public. 

In the month of October, Union Home Minster Amit Shah had visited the valley and claimed the situation in Kashmir is normal and that militancy has been neutralised. Time and again, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders and officers of the Jammu and Kashmir administration have repeated this claim. The Sangh and BJP have always maintained the root cause of the Kashmir problem was Article 370, granting the region special status. Therefore, they argued, its removal would bring normalcy to the valley.

Now, more than three years after the abrogation of Article 370, when the erstwhile state was carved into two Union Territories, and its administration brought under central rule, the situation has worsened. Kashmiri Pandits who did not leave the valley even in the nineties are being killed and compelled to migrate. Many Pandits have shifted families to Jammu or elsewhere, and at least five families have permanently left Kashmir.

Sanjay Tikoo, leader of the resident Pandit association, KPSS, who himself is living with the risk of life threats levelled, says if today’s situation persists, most members of his community will leave the valley. Beneficiaries of the PM’s Package must not be made sacrificial lambs for the sake of image management for the government. Blocking the salaries of migrant Pandit government employees and compelling them to remain in the valley is no solution to this problem. Until the situation normalises and security is assured, there is no point in pressuring them into forced rehabilitation. Even during the nineties, the Pandits who fled the valley were not denied salaries and compensated for their hardships and agony.

The Fiasco of Kashmir Files

The Kashmiri Pandit Sangharsh Samiti (KPSS), a Srinagar-based group representing those Kashmiri Pandits who, at great risk to their lives and livelihoods, never migrated from the Valley had called The Kashmir Files an attempt to sell the community’s pain for commercial and political “benefits”.

KPSS president Sanjay Tikoo told the media the tweet was about the film, which he said had caused nothing but harm to the Pandit community. “The film is nothing but commercialisation of our pain, politicisation of our pain,” Tickoo had said.

The Kashmir Files, endorsed by the BJP, portrays the 1990 attacks on Pandits in Kashmir in a manner that seeks to demonise Muslims. Nadav Lapid, celebrated Israeli filmmaker and chief jury at the International Film Festival of India, had on Monday said the film was “propaganda” and “vulgar”.

The Samiti chief, who had criticised The Kashmir Files in the past as well, said the film had dealt a blow to decades-long efforts to bridge the differences between the Muslim and Pandit communities in Kashmir.

Brief Background of Kashmir Exodus:

Hundreds of thousands of Kashmiri Pandits were forced to flee Kashmir from 1989 onwards due to terrorist attacks and violence. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, many Kashmiri migrants are living in different areas of the valley. These include existing transit accommodation at Vesu (Kulgam), Mattan (Anantnag), Haval (Pulwama), Natansa (Kupwara), Sheikhpora (Budgam) and Veerwan (Baramulla).

Related:

Centre Must Learn, Kashmiri Pandits Can’t be Forcibly Rehabilitated
Protests spiral after brute killing of Kashmiri Pandit farmer: Kashmir
Distress of Kashmiri Pandits (KPs) in Valley continues, KPSS alleges govt unconcern
Kashmir Hindu dies allegedly at the hands of terrorist gunmen
Kashmir: Suspected militants claim another life

[1] BJP Government Has Failed To Protect Kashmiri Pandits, Says PDP Chief Mehbooba Mufti (outlookindia.com)

The post 2,000+ govt jobs, transit accommodation & cash relief to Kashmiri Pandits, says MHA mum on their security appeared first on SabrangIndia.

As of 2021, 2,041 cases are pending investigation under the UAPA for more than 3 years and the total number of cases pending is at 3,998. While the total number of persons arrested in the year 2021 was 1,621, the cases pending investigation is much higher, indicating that while the State keeps incarcerating people under the stringent provisions of UAPA, it has not been able to fulfill its obligation of completing investigation in UAPA cases. Readers must be aware that once arrested under the provisions of UAPA, it is particularly difficult to secure bail and many continue to remain incarcerated without trial for years together. Cases pending investigation means, chargesheet has not been filed in so many cases, which in turn means the State keeps seeking extension of time under UAPA and the accused continue to languish in prison without being charged!

The total number of cases pending investigation at the end of 2019 was 3,993 and the number increased marginally in 2020, at 4,101 cases.

The MHA also provided cumulative data on cases pending trial under UAPA which disclosed that as of the end of 2019, total of 2,244 cases were pending trial; which means trial has either not commenced after framing of charges of is ongoing and has not concluded. The number of cases pending trial has been on a rise since. By the end of 2020, a total of 2,500 cases were pending trial and as of 2021, there were 2,800 cases pending trial. This goes to show that while cases are piling up, more and more cases are being registered, investigations are lagging behind and despite allocation of special courts for these matters, trial is not being concluded in these cases.

It is pertinent to make note of these data points since the accused in UAPA cases, as mentioned before, find it difficult to secure bail. It is observed that rarely do the trial courts grant bail in UAPA cases considering the stringent provisions under section 43D of UAPA and before the appeal can come for consideration before the High Court, considerable amount of time has passed. The Bhima Koregaon case is known for the accused being under incarceration for years under UAPA and most of these accused are academicians or activists with stellar background and history of social work or voicing dissent against the government. Even those accused in the Delhi riots conspiracy case have barely managed to secure bail under the UAPA case, including Umar Khalid whose regular bail plea was rejected by the Delhi High Court. Of the Bhima Koregaon accused, Sudha Bhardwaj was granted default bail while Dr Varavara Rao has been granted bail on medical grounds. Father Stan Swamy met a tragic death while in prison itself while Gautam Navlakha is currently under house arrest. Dr Anand Teltumbde has been granted regular bail by the Bombay High Court which has been stayed by the Supreme Court, pending appeal by the NIA due to which he continues to remain in prison.

The MHA response may be read here:

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The post UAPA: 11.7% rise in cases pending trial, shows MHA data appeared first on SabrangIndia.

In response to questions raised by Dr Vishnu Prasad and TN Prathapan about convictions and arrests under UAPA, the Ministry of Home Affairs provided significant data which showed a disturbing trend that even juveniles above 12 years of age have been apprehended under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

The Ministry of Home Affairs has also told the Lok Sabha on December 13, during the winter session that religion wise data of persons arrested and convicted under the UAPA is not maintained separately.

NIA Courts

The MHA said that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) also investigates some of the UAPA cases which are assigned to it. Currently there are 49 special NIA Courts across the country for the speedy trial of terror related cases. Further, the appointment of Judges of NIA Special Courts is now made by designation as against hitherto practice of appointment by name.

The two other questions asked were:

“(f) the number of people who were released after not proving the charges against them during the last ten years, State and age-wise; and

(g) whether the Government has any compensation mechanism if anybody is framed falsely and if so, the details thereof?”

However, in response the MHA it does not maintain data regarding duration of investigation and that there are adequate constitutional and institutional safeguards  to prevent misuse of the law.

Juveniles apprehended under UAPA

As per the data provided, from 2019-2021, a total of 19 juveniles (under 18 years of age) were detained under the UAPA. In 2019, Arunachal Pradesh (1), Assam (2), Madhya Pradesh (1) and Tamil Nadu (2) were the states were juveniles were apprehended. All juvenile thus apprehended were above 12 years of age. In the year 2020, Assam (1), Manipur(1) and Punjab (1) each had one juvenile under detention under UAPA and Jammu and Kashmir had two juveniles under detention.

Further, in 2021, Manipur had 1 juvenile under detention while Jammu & Kashmir had detained 7 juveniles between age group 16-18 years under UAPA.

Conviction rate under UAPA

In 2019, a total of 34 persons were convicted under UAPA while 1,948 were arrested. The maximum arrests were in Uttar Pradesh (498) followed by Manipur (386) and Tamil Nadu (308). Many States including Goa, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttarakhand, and even West Bengal and Maharashtra had no arrests under UAPA in 2019.

Further, Jammu and Kashmir recorded 227 arrests in the year 2019 with no convictions at all.

Out of the 34 convictions, half were in Jharkhand and half were in Uttar Pradesh.

In 2020, a total of 1,321 person were arrested under UAPA while 80 were convicted. The maximum arrests were recorded, once again, in UP (361) followed by Manipur (225). Jammu & Kashmir recorded 346 arrests with only 2 convictions that year.

In 2021, UP once again topped the number of recorded arrest under UAPA with 321 arrests followed by Assam (189) and closely followed by Manipur (188). On the other hand, Jammu and Kashmir recorded a whopping 645 arrests under UAPA with no convictions at all.

In the last 3 years 2019-2021, the rate of conviction when compared to the number of arrests is a mere 3.59%.

In this data there is a clear trend that Uttar Pradesh and Manipur have constantly reported high arrests under UAPA and Jammu and Kashmir has an abysmal conviction rate, with only 2 conviction in 3 years.

The MHA answer to Lok Sabha dated December 13, 2022 may be read here:

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