Gauhati HC quashes Assam MLA Aminul Islam’s detention under NSA

The Gauhati High Court has quashed the detention of All India United Democratic Front MLA Aminul Islam under the National Security Act more than six months after he was arrested for his statements about the Pahalgam terror attack, The Indian Express reported on Friday.

A bench of Justices Kalyan Rai Surana and Rajesh Mazumdar directed that the legislator, who represents the Dhing constituency in Assam, be released if he is not wanted in any other case.

Islam was arrested on April 24 after he alleged that the attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22 was a “conspiracy to incite hatred and violence against Muslims” by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government.

The authorities had alleged that his statements were “misleading and instigating”. The remarks, which were widely shared online, also had the “potential to create an adverse situation”, the police had claimed.

The AIDUF MLA was arrested under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including one pertaining to acts endangering sovereignty, unity and integrity of India, The Indian Express reported. This is similar to the charge of sedition under the erstwhile Indian Penal Code.

Islam received bail in the case on May 14, the newspaper reported. However, he was detained under the National Security Act on the same day.

The Act allows the Union or state government to order the detention...

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