Imagine this: Tomorrow the police show up at your door, tell you that at a conference you indicated a plan to wage a war against India and arrest you.
There is no evidence to support this claim. The state just presumes your guilt based on the books you read and the company you keep.
Or...you believe in a certain ideology. You did not necessarily act on that ideology but even believing it is a crime.
Meanwhile, you continue to languish in prison for several years. With neither bail nor a trial in sight.
Finally, when the trial takes place you have already spent several years in jail. You might be acquitted then, but will you be compensated for the years you lost in jail? Not really.
Dystopian? Wrong.
The Unlawful Activites Prevention Act (UAPA), a preventive detention law, which allows the government to designate an individual as a 'terrorist' without trial, can do just this.
But this, according to legal experts, violates the constitution.
And not just this – there are other laws, in their opinion, that criminalise livelihood, culture and identity – all of which go against the values enshrined in the venerated document, we are slated to celebrate this Republic day.
Which laws are these? And how are they unconstitutional? We find out.