No Decision on NRC, UP Has Most Arrests & Convictions Under UAPA: Home Ministry

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(Photo: Shruti Mathur/Altered by The Quint)

Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai informed the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, 15 March, that the Government of India has not taken any decision regarding the preparation of the National Register of Indian citizens (NRC) at the national level till now.

This comes two years after all-India protests erupted against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). This also comes after Home Minister Amit Shah had repeatedly stated in 2019 that an all-India NRC will be created.

Rai was answering MP Mala Roy, who had asked when the work related to NRC will be completed and asked of the status of NRC in Assam.

"On the direction of the Supreme Court, the supplementary list of inclusion and the list of exclusion for NRC, Assam have been published on 31 August 2019," Rai added.

Uttar Pradesh Has Highest Number of Arrests and Convictions Under UAPA

Meanwhile, while replying to another question on the total number of under-trial prisoners who are in jail under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), 1967, along with the number of persons denied bail, Rai informed that Uttar Pradesh, with 361 people arrested and 54 convicted, has the highest number of arrests and convictions in comparison to other states.

Referring to the National Crime Records Bureau’s (NCRB) 2020 report, he added that after UP, Jammu and Kashmir has the highest number of arrests with 346 arrested, followed by Manipur with 225 people charged under UAPA.

Rai added, "In terms of conviction rate under UAPA, UP has the highest number (54), followed by Tamil Nadu (21), Jharkhand (three) and Jammu and Kashmir (two)."

Meanwhile, the number of people arrested under UAPA who have been acquitted is highest from Tamil Nadu with 50 acquittals, followed by Jharkhand (46), Assam (13), and four acquitted in Jammu and Kashmir.