Supreme Court Dismisses Plea Challenging ISIS Terror Linked Case Under UAPA

The Supreme Court dismissed a petition filed by terror convict Saquib Nachan, challenging government notifications (2015, 2018) declaring ISIS and associated ideological terms as terrorist organisations under the UAPA,1967.

A bench led by Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi held that the petitioner’s grievance centred on individual criminal proceedings, not the notifications themselves.

The Court clarified that issues about wrongful arrests or misinterpretation of terms like “jihad” and “caliphate” should be addressed through a proper forum in pending UAPA cases.

The Court refused a blanket challenge to the notifications under Section 35 of the UAPA, and allowed remedies via bail petitions or statutory proceedings instead.

[Saquib Abdul Hamid Nachan v Union of India]