South Asia Justice Campaign and Guernica 37 Group release report examining the Indian National Security Act (1980)

In recent years, Indian authorities have resorted to an increased use of preventive detention under the National Security Act of 1980 (NSA). Preventive detention, as the term implies, is understood to be the detention of a person prior to any conduct that may amount to a criminal offense and without the intention to pursue any criminal proceedings.

G37 Group Press Statement

In the report “Preventive Detention under the Indian National Security Act, 1980, and its Compatibility with International Human Rights Law”, South Asia Justice Campaign and Toby Cadman & Omar Soliman of Guernica 37 Group, set out the domestic legal framework for preventive detention in India, provide an overview of applicable international human rights law, and examine whether the NSA is compatible with the latter.

This first detailed analysis of the NSA suggests that the provisions in the NSA and in the Indian Constitution regarding preventive detentions are in violation of international human rights law, in so far as the grounds for arrest and detention are too broad and vague, mechanisms for reviewing such detentions are flawed, and the detainee’s right to legal representation as well as the right to know the reasons for detention are not sufficiently guaranteed. These shortcomings lead to the misuse of preventive detention in practice to target minorities and human rights defenders.

241030_NSA Review (FINAL).pdf

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