Sedition, UAPA cases decrease in 2020; convictions still at low: NCRB data

Manipur registered the highest number of cases sedition cases in 2020 while Karnataka saw a steep decline from 30 cases to eight cases, ranking third

The number of cases filed for sedition and those under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act saw a decrease in 2020 compared to the previous year even as the investigators continued to fail to get convictions in almost two-third of the cases in which trials were completed.

Last year saw 73 cases of sedition as against 93 in 2019 while UAPA cases saw a sharp dip to 796 from 1,226 during the same period, according to the Crime in India 2020 report released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) on Wednesday.

Manipur registered the highest number of cases under Section 124A (sedition) of the Indian Penal Code while 2019's topper Karnataka saw a steep decline from 30 cases to eight cases, ranking third. Assam came second with 12 cases of sedition. Uttar Pradesh (7) and Delhi (5) were other toppers.

When it comes to cases under UAPA, Jammu and Kashmir was at the top with 287 cases followed by Manipur (169), Jharkhand (86), Assam (76) and Uttar Pradesh (72). Karnataka had just one UAPA case last year.

Also read: Crimes against women, children drop in 2020; disobedience cases go up drastically: NCRB

Altogether 44 people, including two women, were arrested in sedition cases last year while 1,321 people, including 34 women, were apprehended under UAPA.

Three persons were convicted in two cases of sedition while four were acquitted in a total of six cases in which trial was completed. 80 people were convicted, 115 were discharged and 116 were acquitted by courts in UAPA cases. While no women were convicted in sedition or UAPA cases, nine women were either acquitted or discharged in UAPA cases.

If one takes the statistics on sedition cases, it tells a story: 356 cases of sedition were filed between 2015 and 2020, 62 cases went to trial and at least 59 people were acquitted in 55 cases. Only 12 people in seven cases were sentenced to jail term during this period.

Also read: Sedition cases jump 160% between 2016-19: Rights lawyer

Trial was completed only in six cases of sedition last year, one in 2019 and 13 in 2018. Six cases saw trials completed in 2017, three in 2016 and four in 2015. There was no conviction in 2015 while there was one each in the next two years, two in 2018 and one in 2019.

While the conviction rate is 33.3% last year, 2019 recorded the least conviction rate at 3.33% in the past five years. It was 15.40% in 2018, 16.70% in 2017 and 33.30% in 2016. According to the report, 103 cases are still pending trial in courts at the end of 2020.

Read | Sedition law colonial, is it still needed? SC asks govt

When it comes to police investigations, cops had 230 cases for probe, including 157 cases pending from 2019. Of this, they could file chargesheet only in 23 cases -- 14 cases originated in 2020 while nine were from cases registered before 2020. The report said the chargesheet rate was 57.5% while the pendency was 82.2%.

In UAPA cases, 2,642 cases came up for trial, including 2,244 cases pending from 2019, of which trial was completed only in 128 cases while a total of 142 cases were disposed of.

Conviction happened only in 27 cases at a rate of 21.1% as against a better rate of 29.2% in 2019, while 2,500 cases are still pending trial.

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