CRIMINALISING DISSENT: CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE UAPA’S BAIL REGIME AND ITS IMPACT ON CIVIL LIBERTIES
AUTHOR – DIVYANSH JAIN, STUDENT AT SCHOOL OF LAW, CHRIST (DEEMED TO BE UNIVERSITY), BANGALORE
BEST CITATION – DIVYANSH JAIN, CRIMINALISING DISSENT: CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE UAPA’S BAIL REGIME AND ITS IMPACT ON CIVIL LIBERTIES, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 6 (2) OF 2026, PG. 539-553, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344. DOI – https://doi.org/10.65393/IBVY7109
ABSTRACT
This research paper critically discusses the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA), and speculates specifically on its bail regime in Section 43D(5)[1] and its effects on the civil liberties in India. The research methodology utilized in the study is doctrinal legal research by examining the statutory provisions, judicial interpretations, and comparative structures. The results disclose that the restrictive bail clauses of UAPA have completely changed the nature of criminal justice into a system where the absence of bail is the rule and not the exception. The conviction rate of the act, with only 2.4 percent between 2014 and 2020, and 95.4 percent pending trial, has turned the process into a punishment.[2] The study shows that UAPA has been used in an organized manner to criminalize opposition, attack human rights activists, and curtail legal democratic demonstrations. The paper has come out with a conclusion that UAPA, as it is, does not comply with the basic constitutional principles as outlined in Articles 14, 19, and 21, and that it requires extensive reforms to meet the needs of constitutional safeguards without necessarily jeopardizing the national security interests.
Keywords: Bail jurisprudence, Civil liberties, Constitutional rights, Counter-terrorism legislation, Dissent criminalization, UAPA
[1] Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, § 43D(5) (India).
[2] Nat’l Crime Records Bureau, Crime in India 2020: Statistics (Gov’t of India 2021).