Overview

• The court set aside 2021 discharge orders and revived charges against Ameer Hamza Shah and Rayees Ahmad Mir.
• Justices Sanjeev Kumar and Sanjay Parihar ruled that Section 13(1) of the UAPA covers advocacy of secession even without accompanying violence.
• Shah and Mir are accused of chanting anti-India slogans calling for Jammu and Kashmir’s separation after Friday prayers in March 2015.
• The bench directed the trial court to frame charges under Section 13 and resume prosecution of the case.
• Legal experts say the verdict broadens the UAPA’s reach and may heighten restrictions on political expression in the region.