On May 18, the Supreme Court granted bail to a Kashmiri man who was charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, known more commonly as the UAPA. Syed Iftikar Andrabi was arrested in 2020 for his alleged connections to a National Investigation Agency case involving narco-terrorism. Along with UAPA, he was also charged under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act. After spending over five years in jail, the top court granted Andrabi bail. They said that authorities did not find any evidence directly connecting the accused to the crime and hence, bail could be granted.
“The banning of the Jamia Siraj Ul Uloom school under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) is a serious matter. It has stoked apprehension among people that our religious identity is being targeted,” said the Mirwaiz