Supreme Court cancels NSA detention, orders U.P. to pay ₹10 lakh

The Supreme Court has quashed the preventive detention of a man accused in connection with the November 2024 Sambhal violence, ruling that authorities had illegally exercised their powers under the National Security Act. A Bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu set aside the detention order against Mulla Afroz and imposed costs of ₹10 lakh on the Uttar Pradesh government. The order had been issued by the Sambhal District Magistrate in October 2025.

The court said the authorities had failed to consider relevant material before depriving Afroz of his liberty. It also held that a confessional statement relied upon by the authorities could not, by itself, justify preventive detention. Afroz was arrested in connection with clashes that broke out during a court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid in Sambhal on November 24, 2024.

Four people were killed in the violence. The survey followed a civil suit by Hindu petitioners who claimed the mosque had been built over a temple. Afroz’s lawyer, Divyesh Pratap Singh, argued that his client had been forced to confess under threat of a staged encounter.

He said the police case relied on the alleged confession and the recovery of a .32-bore pistol, while a forensic report indicated that the alleged victim had been killed with a .315-bore firearm. Afroz’s detention was confirmed by the Uttar Pradesh government until October 12, 2026. The Allahabad High Court rejected his challenge in June, after which he approached the Supreme Court.