- The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), through a gazette notification has designated Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar, Hafiz Saeed of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, his deputy Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, who planned and executed the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, as “terrorists” under the anti-terror law passed by Parliament on August 2, 2019.
- They are the first four persons declared terrorists under Clause (a) of sub-section (1) of Section 35 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967.
- The UAPA was first amended in 2004, then in 2008 and again in 2013.
- The 2004 amendment was to ban organisations for terror activities, under which 34 outfits, including the LeT and the JeM, were banned.
About UAPA and amendment
- Rajya Sabha on August 2, 2019 had passed the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Bill, 2019. The Lok Sabha had passed the bill on July 24. Amendment has following features:
- Individuals as terrorists: The act empowers the government to designate individuals as terrorists. As per the government, declaring an organization as a terrorist organization will not stop the individuals behind it. Not designating individuals as terrorists, would give them an opportunity to circumvent the law and they would simply gather under a different name and keep up their terror activities.
- Powers to DG, NIA to attach properties: The Amendment gives powers to DG, NIA to attach properties acquired from proceeds of terrorism. On this issue, Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah had said that this law does not take away powers of the state police. When NIA takes up a case having international and inter-state ramifications, all the facts pertinent to the case are with the NIA, and not with the state police. Currently, the law requires that NIA take prior permission from the respective state DGP to attach the proceeds of terrorism. This delays the process as often such properties are in different states, the Minister added.
- Inspectors to investigate the case: Earlier, officers of ranks DSP and above were empowered to investigate cases under UAPA as per Section 43. The Amendment seeks to empower officers with the rank of inspectors and above to do the same. As per the Union Home Minister, this would help solve the human resource crunch in the NIA. The inspector rank officers have, over time, acquired sufficient proficiency to investigate UAPA related cases.
