UAPA abuse not a model for Viksit Bharat: SC judge

NEW DELHI: Supreme Court Justice Ujjal Bhuyan on Sunday said the political administration’s goal of achieving Viksit Bharat by 2047 requires more space for debate and dissent without criminalizing the acts and erasing the “deep social fault lines” reflected in caste-based discrimination and atrocities against Dalits. Justice Bhuyan, while addressing the first national conference of the SC Bar Association in Bengaluru, said frivolous arrests under the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act “cannot become a model for Viksit Bharat”. “My model of Viksit Bharat is equal distribution of wealth and elimination of gross inequalities… which is also the objective set out in the Directive Principles of State Policy in the Constitution,” he said in Viksit Bharat. “The judiciary must remain judicial… it cannot be a perpetual critic or a cheerleader.”“Low convictions under UAPA indicate overuse, even abuse, of the law”Providing data on those arrested under UAPA from 2019 to 2023, he said thousands have been arrested, but the average conviction rate hovers around 5%. “This shows that conviction rates have been very low. What does this show – the overuse, if not abuse, of the law and its impact on the criminal justice system. How much of a burden does this place on the courts? It shows that the vast majority of people are arrested but cannot be convicted. It shows that many arrests are premature and not supported by sufficient evidence,” he said.“The overall conviction rate in UAPA cases is only 5% or less and more than 95% of the cases result in acquittal, why are the accused sent to jail without even filing a charge sheet? This cannot be the model of Viksit Bharat,” Justice Bhuyan said, adding that such overabundance of cases leads to backlog, pendency and delay in delivery of justice, which collectively affects the general principle that “bail is the norm and jail is the exception”.

He said Viksit Bharat should have more room for debate and dissent. “Debate should not be criminalized. There should be more tolerance for different views. Different opinions should be respected. There should be more tolerance for different views and criticism,” he said.Justice Bhuyan said that the political administration has set goals for the development of India. “With all major players in the economy and society performing well, this is certainly an achievable goal. After all, why couldn’t India become a developed country in such a long time. But ultimately it is a political statement, he said, recalling the political administration in the 1970s that coined catchy slogans such as “garibi hatao”.“I question whether the judiciary, although an organ of the state but separate and distinct from other institutions, should join this bandwagon. No offense intended, the appropriate target for the judiciary should be 2050.”“By then, both our Constitution and the SC will have passed 100 years, which is an important milestone worth looking back and evaluating how we have come so far and what is the roadmap for the future,” he said.Referring to the August 1986 Supreme Court judgment in the Bijoe Emmanuel case, in which the court ruled in favor of children of the Jehovah’s Witness sect who refused to sing the national anthem in schools, Justice Bhuyan said that only a brave judge like O Chinnappa Reddy could have given such a verdict. He said the tolerance taught by our tradition and constitution must be practiced.Referring to the atrocities against Dalits and the social imbalance caused by caste-based discrimination, Justice Bhuyan said, “There are deep social fault lines. Such fault lines cannot be tolerated by Vikshit Bharat.”“Parents cannot insist that their children not eat food prepared by Dalit women. This cannot be a Viksit Bharat model. We cannot have Viksit Bharat when Dalits are forced to stand in corridors and people urinate on them. This cannot be a development model. Respect for individuals must be protected.”