Don’t believe the timelines? Just ask the accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, who not only face charges on the basis of such evidence in the ongoing case against them (which has seen them jailed for over two years) but several of whom have also faced similar charges and been acquitted or discharged in the past (after four years or more behind bars).

Don’t believe the Kafka-esque stuff about the evidence? Just ask Zafoor Ahmad Shah Watali, a name you aren’t likely to have heard of, but which is set in stone in the law which makes all this possible.

Don’t believe the Kafka-esque stuff about the evidence? Just ask Zafoor Ahmad Shah Watali, a name you aren’t likely to have heard of, but which is set in stone in the law which makes all this possible.

Don’t believe that UAPA cases, with all the seriousness of what such charges apply, are so flimsy? Just ask the accused in the 67 percent of cases that resulted in acquittal or discharge .

So, no, dystopian and unbelievable as it may be, that little hypothetical set out above is actually grounded in the way the UAPA has allowed people to be kept in jail for years without trial, a process that is the punishment regardless of what the final verdict against them turns out to be. Perhaps most incredibly, the fact that this is the reality of UAPA cases isn’t a result of the police misusing the law, or the lower courts misinterpreting it. This ability to deny bail even when there is little to no reasonable evidence against a person comes from the UAPA itself, and has been laid down to be the correct interpretation of the law by that protector of fundamental rights, the Supreme Court of India.

Guilty or Not, Umar Khalid Will Be in Jail for Years. Here’s Why: UAPA and the SC’s Watali Judgment

Picture this.

One day, your doorbell rings. At the door, you find a bunch of police officers who say they need to speak to you regarding some unrest which took place in your city/town/village a few months ago. Being a law-abiding citizen, you go with the police to the local thana.

You answer their questions about your whereabouts, you inform them of how you participated in protests against what you believed to be a draconian law or explain the work you do for helping marginalised communities. No incriminating material is found on your person, your bank and phone records show no connection to any wrongdoing.

You’re still arrested by the police, who say that they believe you have committed an offence under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967. They say you’ve been involved with planning and plotting terrorist activities, and that they have evidence to back this up. You are not provided with this evidence.

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Guilty or Not, Umar Khalid Will Be in Jail for Years. Here’s Why

SC’s Watali judgment stops courts from granting bail in UAPA cases even if the evidence is blatantly unreasonable.

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Topics: Umar Khalid arrested