Delhi Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena on Friday sanctioned the prosecution of novelist Arundhati Roy, for allegedly provocative statements made at a 2010 event propagating Kashmiri separatism, under Section 13 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, according to Raj Niwas officials. The L-G had already sanctioned prosecution under several sections of the Indian Penal Code last year.
The L-G also sanctioned the prosecution under UAPA of Sheikh Showkat Hussain, former Professor of International Law at the Central University of Kashmir, for his alleged statements at the same event, a conference organised in New Delhi’s LTG auditorium in 2010 under the banner of ‘Azadi – The Only Way’.
Section 13 of the UAPA deals with advocating, abetting or inciting any unlawful activity and is punishable with imprisonment for up to seven years.
14-year old case
The FIR against Ms. Roy and Dr. Hussain was registered in October 2010, on the basis of a complaint by Sushil Pandit, following the orders of the Court of the Metropolitan Magistrate, New Delhi. The other two accused in the case — Sayed Ali Shah Geelani, a Kashmiri separatist leader and Syed Abdul Rahman Geelani, a Delhi University lecturer — have both died over the course of the proceedings.
Last October, the L-G had granted sanction to prosecute the accused under Section 196 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, for the commission of offences punishable under different Sections of the IPC, including 124-A (provisions for sedition), 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony), 153-B (imputation, assertions, prejudicial to national integration), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), and 505 (statements conducing of public mischief).