SUPREME COURT QUASHES NSA DETENTION OF SAMBHAL ACCUSED, ORDERS ₹10 LAKH COST ON UP

September 29, 2026

The Supreme Court has quashed the preventive detention of Mulla Afroz, an accused in the 2024 Sambhal violence case, under the National Security Act (NSA), holding that the detention order could not be sustained on the material relied upon by the Uttar Pradesh authorities. The Court also directed the State government to pay ₹10 lakh in costs.

A Bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu set aside both the detention order and the Allahabad High Court judgment that had upheld it. The Court held that an alleged confessional statement made while Afroz was in police custody could not, by itself, form the basis for preventive detention and that the surrounding circumstances and relevant material had to be properly considered.

The case arose from the violence in Sambhal in November 2024 following a court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid, in which four people were killed. Afroz was arrested around 54 days after the incident and was subsequently granted bail by the Allahabad High Court. The Sambhal District Magistrate later issued an NSA detention order against him on October 13, 2025.

The Uttar Pradesh government had defended the preventive detention by arguing that Afroz's release could create a risk of renewed violence or disturbance of public order. The Supreme Court, however, found the basis relied upon for the detention legally insufficient and described the exercise of preventive-detention powers as unsustainable.

The ruling concerns the legality of Afroz's preventive detention and does not determine the merits of the criminal allegations relating to the 2024 Sambhal violence.