Unlawful Activities Prevention Act: Democratic or Draconian?

The Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, 1967 has often been called ‘draconian’ and violative of the Indian constitution. From a historical perspective, India has witnessed threats, emanating internally and externally, to its national security. The implementation of preventive detention laws has been governments’ response to safeguarding the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the state. However, sometimes, the fundamental rights, especially Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution are compromised during the implementation of provisions like arrest, bail etc. of the UAPA. Firstly, this paper views the UAPA through a critical lens. Secondly, it looks at the possibility of the alteration of the existing legislation such that the fundamental rights of citizens remain intact. After analysing the same, the paper offers strategies to move forward via an approach that is people centric and democratic, without invalidating the security concerns of the government.