AGENCIES / NEW DELHI
In a major verdict, the Supreme Court on Tuesday (September 29) quashed the National Security Act (NSA) detention of Mulla Afroz, an accused in the November 2024 Sambhal violence case and imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh on the Uttar Pradesh government.
A bench comprising Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu also set aside an earlier Allahabad High Court order that had upheld Afroz’s detention under the NSA.
The ruling came in a petition filed by Afroz challenging his preventive detention after the Allahabad High Court had refused to quash the detention order.
Violence broke out in Sambhal on November 24, 2024, during a survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid. Afroz was arrested in January 2025 and was subsequently described by the police as one of the alleged conspirators behind the violence.
After his arrest, Afroz sought bail. According to the account presented in court, the Allahabad High Court subsequently granted him bail. However, before he could be released, the Uttar Pradesh government invoked the NSA against him on October 13, 2025.
Afroz then approached the Allahabad High Court, challenging the preventive detention order. The High Court declined to quash the NSA detention, prompting him to approach the Supreme Court.
Arguments before the Supreme Court
During the proceedings, the Uttar Pradesh government argued that Afroz’s release posed a possibility of renewed violence and a threat to public order in the area. The state maintained that preventive detention under the NSA was therefore necessary.
Afroz’s counsel, however, argued that the mere registration of multiple FIRs could not justify keeping a person in custody without trial. The lawyer relied on earlier Supreme Court decisions, including Rekha v. State of Tamil Nadu and Ameena Begum v. State of Telangana, to argue that personal liberty cannot be curtailed merely on the basis of apprehensions of future criminal activity without sufficient material supporting such apprehensions.
During the hearing, Afroz’s lawyers also challenged the reliance on an alleged confession made while he was in police custody. They argued that such a statement could not legally provide an adequate basis for preventive detention.
The Supreme Court questioned the legal validity and evidentiary value of statements allegedly made in police custody and found the material relied upon by the authorities insufficient to sustain the preventive detention order.
Justice Dipankar Datta observed that an alleged confession made in police custody could not, by itself, constitute a sufficient basis for detention under the NSA.
The Apex Court consequently quashed the NSA detention order against Afroz and set aside the Allahabad High Court judgment that had upheld it.
The Supreme Court also imposed a Rs 10 lakh penalty on the Uttar Pradesh government in connection with the detention.
Questions over police action in Sambhal
The case has also brought renewed attention to the police action following the Sambhal violence.
Critics of the Uttar Pradesh government’s handling of the case have alleged that the police investigation and subsequent action disproportionately targeted members of the Muslim community. They have also questioned the conduct of local police officials during the period following the violence.
The sources have specifically raised allegations concerning the roles of then Sambhal Superintendent of Police K.K. Bishnoi and Circle Officer Anuj Chaudhary. These allegations include claims that the police acted selectively against members of the minority community and restricted political leaders from visiting Sambhal to assess the situation.
Such allegations remain contested and would require independent verification and judicial findings before being treated as established facts.
Bishnoi has since been posted as Superintendent of Police in Bijnor, while Chaudhary has been posted as an Additional Superintendent of Police in Firozabad.