Definitions
Section 2 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 deals with definitions. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-- (a) association means any combination or body of individuals; The Act came into force on 30 Dec 1967.
(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,--
(a) association means any combination or body of individuals;
(b) cession of a part of the territory of India includes admission of the claim of any foreign country to any such part;
(c) Code means the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974);
((d) court means a criminal court having jurisdiction, under the Code, to try offences under this Act 1[and includes a Special Court constituted under section 11 or under 2[section 22] of the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008];
(e) Designated Authority means such officer of the Central Government not below the rank of Joint Secretary to that Government, or such officer of the State Government not below the rank of Secretary to that Government, as the case may be, as may be specified by the Central Government or the State Government, by notification published in the Official Gazette;
3[(ea) economic security includes financial, monetary and fiscal stability, security of means of production and distribution, food security, livelihood security, energy security, ecological and environmental security;]
1[4[(eb) Order means the Prevention and Suppression of Terrorism (Implementation of Security Council Resolutions) Order, 2007, as may be amended from time to time;]
2[(ec) person includes--
(i) an individual,
(ii) a company,
(iii) a firm,
(iv) an organisation or an association of persons or a body of individuals, whether incorporated or not,
(v) every artificial juridical person, not falling within any of the preceding sub-clauses, and
(vi) any agency, office or branch owned or controlled by any person falling within any of the preceding sub-clauses;]
(f) prescribed means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
5[(g) proceeds of terrorism means,--
(i) all kinds of properties which have been derived or obtained from commission of any terrorist act or have been acquired through funds traceable to a terrorist act, irrespective of person in whose name such proceeds are standing or in whose possession they are found; or
(ii) any property which is being used, or is intended to be used, for a terrorist act or for the purpose of an individual terrorist or a terrorist gang or a terrorist organisation.
Explanation.--For the purposes of this Act, it is hereby declared that the expression proceeds of terrorism includes any property intended to be used for terrorism;]
6[(h) property means property and assets of every description whether corporeal or incorporeal, movable or immovable, tangible or intangible and legal documents, deeds and 7[ instruments in any form including but not limited to] electronic or digital, evidencing title to, or interest in, such property or assets by means of bank credits, travellers cheques, bank cheques, money orders, shares, securities, bonds, drafts, letters of credit, cash and bank account including fund, however acquired;
(ha) Schedule means 8[a Schedule] to this Act;]
(i) secession of a part of the territory of India from the Union includes the assertion of any claim to determine whether such part will remain a part of the territory of India;
(j) State Government, in relation to a Union territory, means the Administrator thereof;
(k) terrorist act has the meaning assigned to it in section 15, and the expressions terrorism and terrorist shall be construed accordingly;
(l) terrorist gang means any association, other than terrorist organisation, whether systematic or otherwise, which is concerned with, or involved in, terrorist act;
(m) terrorist organisation means an organisation listed in the 9[First Schedule] or an organisation operating under the same name as an organisation so listed;
(n) Tribunal means the Tribunal constituted under section 5;
(o) unlawful activity, in relation to an individual or association, means any action taken by such individual or association (whether by committing an act or by words, either spoken or written, or by signs or by visible representation or otherwise),--
(i) which is intended, or supports any claim, to bring about, on any ground whatsoever, the cession of a part of the territory of India or the secession of a part of the territory of India from the Union, or which incites any individual or group of individuals to bring about such cession or secession; or
(ii) which disclaims, questions, disrupts or is intended to disrupt the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India; or
(iii) which causes or is intended to cause disaffection against India;
(p) unlawful association means any association,--
(i) which has for its object any unlawful activity, or which encourages or aids persons to undertake any unlawful activity, or of which the members undertake such activity; or
(ii) which has for its object any activity which is punishable under section 153A (45 of 1860) or section 153B of the Indian Penal Code, or which encourages or aids persons to undertake any such activity, or of which the members undertake any such activity:
Provided that nothing contained in sub-clause (ii) shall apply to the State of Jammu and Kashmir*;
(q) words and expressions used but not defined in this Act and defined in the Code shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in the Code.
(2) Any reference in this Act to any enactment or any provision thereof shall, in relation to an area in which such enactment or such provision is not in force, be construed as a reference to the corresponding law or the relevant provision of the corresponding law, if any, in force in that area.]
Section 2, The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (Act 37 of 1967).
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
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Oinam Lukhoi Singh vs The State of Manipur
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
For an accused to be prosecuted under Section 19 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 for harboring a terrorist, there must be: (1) Knowledge that the person is a terrorist; (2) Intention to help the person evade apprehension; and (3) Actual harboring, concealment, or attempt to harbor or conceal. Merely giving a lift to an unknown person without knowledge of their terrorist connections and without any attempt to help them evade apprehension does not constitute the offense. Similarly, for Section 39 of UAPA to apply, the support must be within the meaning of clauses (a), (b), or (c) of Section 39(1) and must be done with the intention to further the activities of a terrorist organization. Confessional statements made to police without the presence of a Magistrate are inadmissible under Sections 25 and 26 of the Indian Evidence Act and cannot form the basis of prosecution. The confession of a co-accused cannot be treated as substantive evidence against another accused unless the other evidence adduced by the prosecution is satisfactory and the co-accused's confession is used only as corroborative evidence. When no prima facie case is made out and the proceedings have been pending for an unreasonable period without progress, the High Court should exercise its inherent powers under Section 482 CrPC to quash the FIR.
On this section: Provides that words and expressions used but not defined in the Act and defined in the Indian Penal Code shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in the Code.
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Made under this section, and citing it
1 instrument states that it was made under this provision — the power to make it comes from here, so a change to any of them changes what this section requires in practice. Newest first.
Another 16 instruments name this provision in its title or its text without being made under it.
- Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh as Terrorist organisationNotification 2019
- Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen (TuM) and all its manifestationsNotification 2019
- Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Tribunal Order dated 6.11.2019 confirming the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) as an unlawful association w.e.f. 14.05.2019Notification 2019
- Designation of Al-Qaida in Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP) as Terrorist Organisation under UAPANotification 2018
- Islamic State-Islamic State of Iraq and Levant-Islamic State of Iraq and Syria-Daish as terrorist organisationNotification 2018
- Khalistan Liberation Force and all its manifestationsNotification 2018
- The Khalistan Liberation Force and all its manifestations declared as terrorist organisationNotification 2018
- Decalring Ansar-Ul-Ummah(AUU) as Terrorist OrganizationNotification 2015
- Declaration of NSCN(K) as terrorist organizationNotification 2015
- Declaring ISIS as terrorist organisaitonNotification 2015
- Harkat-Ul-Mujahideen or Harkat-Ul-Ansar or Harkat-Ul-Jehad-E-Islami or Ansar-Ul-Ummah (AUU) declared as Terrorist organisationNotification 2015
- Islamic State-Islamic State of Iraq and Levant-Islamic State of Iraq and Syria-Daish and all its manisfestation as terrorist organisationNotification 2015
- Declaration of Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) as terrorist organizationNotification 2014
- Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) all its formations and front organisations as terrorist organisationNotification 2012
- Tribunal under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 in High Court of Delhi, in the matter of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eleam (LTTE)Notification 2012
- Communist Party of India (Maoist) all its formations and front organisations as terrorist organisationNotification 2009
Questions about Section 2
What have the courts held on Section 2 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act?
Oinam Lukhoi Singh vs The State of Manipur (22 Feb 2022) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Provides that words and expressions used but not defined in the Act and defined in the Indian Penal Code shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in the Code.
How do I find court cases under Section 2 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: Uapa 2, section 2 Uapa, section 2 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 1 reported judgment on this section is set out on this page, beginning with Oinam Lukhoi Singh vs The State of Manipur (22 Feb 2022).
What should I read with Section 2 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on Indian Penal Code 153B (Imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration), section 5 (Tribunal), section 11 (Penalty for dealing with funds of an unlawful association), section 15 (Terrorist act), and on 1 further provision, so none of them can safely be read on its own. The rules and notifications made under it are where it actually bites, and there is one: most recently Declaring Indian Mujahideen (IM) as Terrorist Organization (2010).
When did Section 2 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act come into force?
Section 2 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, cited as Uapa 2, came into force on 30 Dec 1967, having been enacted on 30 Dec 1967. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
- 43D. Modified application of certain provisions of the Code585 words
- 8. Power to notify places used for the purpose of an unlawful association570 words
- 7. Power to prohibit the use of funds of an unlawful association541 words
- 25. Powers of investigating officer and Designated Authority and appeal against order of Designated Authority498 words
- 15. Terrorist act423 words
- 5. Tribunal361 words
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 15 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.