what-is-the-uapa-case-against-arundhati-roy

The Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, VK Saxena, has given permission to prosecute author Arundhati Roy and a former professor in Kashmir under the strict Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for allegedly delivering inflammatory speeches at an event in 2010, as per officials at Raj Niwas on Friday.

 

The complaint against Roy and former professor Sheikh Showkat Hussain from the Central University of Kashmir was filed following the directives of the Court of Metropolitan Magistrate in New Delhi.

 

There has been no immediate response from Roy and Hussain.

 

This decision pertains to a case registered on November 29, 2010, based on a complaint by Hindu activist Sushil Pandit on October 28, 2010.

 

2010 UAPA case against Arundhati Roy

 

The accusations relate to speeches given at a conference called "Azadi—The Only Way" on October 21, 2010, at LTG Auditorium, Copernicus Marg, New Delhi.

 

The event featured speakers such as Syed Ali Shah Geelani, SAR Geelani (the main organiser of the conference and the primary accused in the Parliament attack case), Arundhati Roy, Dr Sheikh Showkat Hussain, and Varavara Rao. Allegedly, the discussions promoted the "separation of Kashmir from India."

 

Both Syed Ali Shah Geelani and SAR Geelani have passed away since then.

 

The meeting occurred during a period of heightened turmoil in Kashmir after the passing of a 17-year-old named Tufail Ahmad Mattoo, who was hit by a tear gas canister. This led to a series of protests that resulted in the deaths of around 120 demonstrators in 2010, as per a New York Times report.

 

Sushil Pandit's complaint prompted the filing of the FIR by the Metropolitan Magistrate Court in New Delhi on November 27, 2010. 

 

In his complaint, Pandit alleged that several speeches, including one by Arundhati Roy, had "endangered public peace and security." He also claimed that the speakers advocated for "separating Kashmir from India," as reported by the New York Times.

 

The accused are charged in the FIR, bearing number 258/2010, under sections 124A (sedition), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups), 153B (making imputations prejudicial to national integration), 504 (intentional insult to provoke breach of the peace), and 505 (making statements conducing to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), as well as section 13 of the UAPA.