The following thread has been curated by @mrinpinshar from @AIIndia, using data from National Crime Record Bureau’s annual crime statistics to observe patterns that have emerged in the ways that UAPA has been used. 1/n
Governments in India have routinely used the suspension of regular procedure under the UAPA to bypass human rights. The annual crime statistics compiled by the National Crime Record Bureau every year present a compelling illustration.2/n
Since 2018, charges under the UAPA are being documented under “Offences against State” in the crime statistics. In 2018, even though the police filed the highest numbers of cases under UAPA out of all offenses against the state, it had the lowest rate of charge- sheeting. 3/n
Take this - a total of 5,107 cases were up for investigation under UAPA in 2018. This included 1,182 cases which were filed in 2018 itself, 3,920 cases which were pending from previous years and 5 cases which were opened for re-investigation.4/n
But the police could file a chargesheet in only 317 cases. 875 cases -almost 3 times the cases in which chargesheets were filed -ended either because the final report filed by the police was false or there was insufficient evidence or ‘mistake of fact’ or police had ‘no clue’.5/n
Including the 317 cases mentioned above and 1691 cases from previous years, a total of 2008 UAPA cases were on trial in 2018. By the end of the year, trials were completed in only 125 cases of which a mere 34 led to a conviction.6/n
That is 27% of the trials that were completed and only 1.6% of all the cases that were on trial in 2018. This means that out of 100 cases that were tried before the courts, only 2 led to a conviction. What does this tell us?7/n
Besides giving us a low conviction rate, it shows us how often the police rushes to make an arrest and the prosecution tries to establish guilt for charges under UAPA that eventually turn out to be baseless.8/n
The opposite of a conviction does not only mean an acquittal or discharge but also high pendency. By the end of 2018, 93% of the UAPA cases that went on trial in the beginning of the year were still pending before the court.9/n
Combine this with the disproportionate use of incarceration on minorities and marginalized or those working with them, we see a deliberate attempt to curb dissent by using laws like UAPA and turning the process into punishment.10/n
Talking in numbers may obscure the actual injustice faced by those arrested under repressive anti-terror laws. Thus, we must remember that the limbo of prolonged incarceration, lack of remedies and miscarriage of justice that characterise UAPA is ruining lives as we write.11/n
Thank you for following us today. We send your questions, give feedback, and tweet #RepealUAPA. We will see you tomorrow with a thread on the investigation into mass violence cases in Bhima Koregaon and Delhi.
