The Supreme Court on Tuesday cancelled the detention of an accused in the Sambhal violence case by the UP government under the stringent National Security Act (NSA). The Court also ruled that a confession statement cannot be the basis for detaining a person under the NSA.
A bench comprising Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Sheel Nagu held that the Uttar Pradesh government could not have passed orders for preventive detention based on a confession allegedly made by the accused in police custody. During the hearing, the Court had raised serious questions regarding the UP government’s actions. However, the Court had questioned whether a statement made in police custody – which is legally inadmissible in court – could serve as grounds for detention under the NSA.
Mulla Afroz is accused of being the key conspirator behind the violence that erupted in November 2024 during the survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid in UP’s Sambhal. Shortly after being granted bail by the Allahabad High Court, he was re-arrested by the UP government in October 2025 under the NSA. Afroz was arrested around 54 days after the violence during the mosque survey in Sambhal in November 2024, allegedly on the basis of a confession made while in police custody. a detention order under the NSA was imposed on him on October 13, 2025 Although he was granted bail by the Allahabad High Court.
