In Brief
The Supreme Court held that mere continuation of membership in an organization declared unlawful under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (Section 10(a)(i)) is sufficient to incriminate a person—no proof of violence, incitement, or criminal intent is required. The Court overruled earlier Division Bench decisions (Raneef, Arup Bhuyan, Indra Das) that had read down the provision by importing American 'guilt by association' doctrine. The Court held this was wrong because: (1) the Indian Constitution explicitly permits reasonable restrictions on freedom of association in the interests of sovereignty and integrity—a power absent in the US First Amendment; (2) the UAPA provides robust procedural safeguards through tribunal review before banning; and (3) American jurisprudence on political organizations is inapplicable to Indian law targeting organizations threatening national security.
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