The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) Tribunal upheld the Union Ministry of Home Affairs’ (MHA) decision to extend the ban on the Hynñiewtrep National Liberation Council (HNLC) for another five years.
In the order issued on May 10, the tribunal found sufficient evidence to confirm the ban on HNLC.
Justice Soumitra Saikia, who presided over the UAPA tribunal, stated in the final order, “The HNLC continues to engage in armed insurgency and unlawful activities with the intent to undermine the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India.”
The MHA and the UAPA tribunal have continuously renewed the HNLC’s status as an “unlawful association” under the UAPA since November 2000, with the most recent ban extension occurring in December 2024.
The group continues to maintain links with other insurgent groups of the northeastern region, including the United Liberation Front of Asom (I), the MHA said.
It also revealed that the HNLC continues to engage in armed insurgency, extortion and intimidation and indulged in 48 criminal cases, including several incidents of explosions or planting of explosives in Meghalaya, during the period from November 2019 to June 2024.
During this period, 73 cadres of the outfit were also arrested by security forces.
MHA stated that the organisation allegedly uses social media platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp to radicalise local youth. “The organisation’s active use of such digital platforms for indoctrination and mobilisation is evidenced by the arrests of several youths across different districts of the State who have been found to be working as overground workers for the HNLC,” the MHA said.
The Home Ministry informed the tribunal that, in February 2024, the MHA served a notice under Section 91 of the CrPC to WhatsApp, seeking information on two Bangladeshi phone numbers linked to threat messages. However, as of now, WhatsApp has not responded to the official notice.
