What Is The 2010 UAPA Case Against Arundhati Roy?

Delhi LG approved the prosecution of Arundhati Roy and Sheikh Showkat Hussain under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for allegedly making seditious statements at a conference in 2010.

File Photo of author Arundhati Roy who is facing prosecution over contentious remarks on Kashmir delivered at a conference titled "Azadi - The Only Way," held on 21 October 2010. ( Image Source :PTI )

Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena has sanctioned the prosecution of renowned author Arundhati Roy and former Professor of International Law at the Central University of Kashmir, Dr Sheikh Showkat Hussain, under section 45(1) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in a case dating back 14 years. This decision is related to an FIR registered on November 29, 2010, following a complaint by Hindu activist Sushil Pandit on October 28, 2010.

2010 UAPA Case Against Arundhati Roy

The charges stem from speeches delivered at a conference titled "Azadi - The Only Way", held on October 21, 2010 at LTG Auditorium, Copernicus Marg, New Delhi. The conference featured speakers including Syed Ali Shah Geelani, SAR Geelani (anchor of the conference and prime accused in the Parliament attack case), Arundhati Roy, Dr Sheikh Showkat Hussain, and Varavara Rao. The discussions allegedly advocated the "separation of Kashmir from India".

Syed Ali Shah Geelani and SAR Geelani have since died.

The conference took place amidst a period of intense unrest in Kashmir, following the death of a 17-year-old boy named Tufail Ahmad Mattoo struck by a tear gas canister. The subsequent cycle of protests resulted in the deaths of approximately 120 demonstrators in 2010, according to a report by the New York Times.

The complaint by Sushil Pandit led to the registration of the FIR on the direction of the Metropolitan Magistrate Court in New Delhi on November 27, 2010. In his complaint, Pandit had said several of the speeches, including the one by Arundhati Roy, had “jeopardised public peace and security”, further asserting that speakers promoted “separation of Kashmir from India”, the NYT reported.

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

According to news agency PTI, Raj Niwas official stated, "Delhi LG, VK Saxena, has sanctioned the prosecution of Arundhati Roy and Dr Sheikh Showkat Hussain under the UAPA. Last October, the LG had granted sanction under section 196 of CrPC to prosecute them for offences under sections 153A, 153B, and 505 of the IPC."