Supreme Court quashes NSA detention of Sambhal violence accused and imposes Rs 10 lakh cost on Uttar Pradesh

29 September 2026

The Supreme Court on 29 September 2026 quashed the detention of Mulla Afroz under the National Security Act in connection with the Sambhal violence case.
The Bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu imposed a cost of Rs 10 lakh on the Uttar Pradesh government.
The Court held that the detention order could not rest on a confession said to have been made while the detenu was in police custody.
It held that a mere possibility of the detenu becoming involved in crime again, without cogent material supporting that apprehension, cannot furnish a valid basis for preventive detention.
The Bench set aside the Allahabad High Court order that had upheld the detention.