The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), Act No. 37 of 1967, is a special Indian law designed for the effective prevention of certain unlawful activities and is widely known as the country's primary anti-terror legislation. It was enacted on December 30, 1967, following the Constitution (Sixteenth Amendment) Act, 1963, which allowed the Parliament to impose reasonable restrictions on fundamental rights to protect India's sovereignty and integrity. The original purpose was to combat secessionist movements and activities directed against the nation's integrity.
The Act works by defining and punishing two main categories of offenses. First, unlawful activity is defined as any action that supports or incites the cession or secession of any part of India, or that questions or disrupts its sovereignty and territorial integrity. Second, Section 15 defines a terrorist act as an act intended to threaten the unity, integrity, security, or economic security of India, or to strike terror in the people. The Central Government can declare an association as unlawful under Section 3. The law is connected to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is empowered to investigate and prosecute UAPA cases. It replaced earlier anti-terror laws like the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, 1987 (TADA) and the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002 (POTA), with terrorism provisions incorporated through the 2004 amendment.
The Act was significantly changed by the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act, 2019, which empowered the Central Government to designate an individual as a terrorist, a power previously limited to organizations. The 2019 amendment also allowed NIA officers of the rank of Inspector or above to investigate UAPA cases. While the core definitions of "unlawful activity" remain, the scope of the law has expanded, and its stringent bail provisions allow for detention up to 180 days without charge. The Supreme Court ruled in 2023 that "membership of an unlawful organisation" constitutes an offence under UAPA.