Supreme Court Quashes NSA Detention of Sambhal Violence Accused, Fines UP Rs 10 Lakh

The Supreme Court on Tuesday quashed the preventive detention of Mulla Afroz, an accused in the Sambhal violence case, under the National Security Act, and imposed a cost of Rs 10 lakh on the Uttar Pradesh government for passing what it deemed an illegal detention order.

A bench of Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Sheel Nagu held that the state could not have ordered preventive detention on the basis of a confession allegedly made by the accused while in police custody. The court set aside the Allahabad High Court order that had upheld the detention.

Afroz is accused of being the key conspirator in the violence that broke out in November 2024 during a survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal. He was arrested around 54 days after the violence, allegedly on the strength of a custodial confession. Although the Allahabad High Court granted him bail, the state re-arrested him and issued a detention order under the NSA on October 13, 2025.

Defending the move, the Uttar Pradesh government argued that Afroz's release posed a serious risk of renewed violence and a breakdown of public order, and described the preventive detention as necessary to maintain law and order. The bench, however, questioned whether a statement recorded in police custody — legally inadmissible in court — could serve as the basis for detention under the NSA.

The NSA allows the Centre and states to detain a person to prevent them from acting in a manner prejudicial to the defence of India, among other grounds. Detention can extend up to 12 months, though it may be revoked earlier. The law can be invoked by the local administration and must be ratified by a board headed by a former high court judge. Because it is preventive detention rather than arrest, there is no legal obligation to produce the detainee before a court.

In a rare moment during the pronouncement, Justice Datta dedicated the judgment to his law clerk, Ritvik Deshwal, who died shortly before his 27th birthday. Justice Datta said Ritvik had provided significant research assistance in preparing the judgment and that the mark of his final work was evident in it, describing his death as leaving an unbearably deep void. It is understood to be the first time a Supreme Court judgment has been dedicated to a law clerk who assisted the bench.