MHA constitutes tribunal to review ULFA’s status as an unlawful association

Tue Dec 24 07:27:13 UTC 2024: ## India Establishes Tribunal to Review ULFA Ban

**New Delhi, December 24, 2024** – The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has formed a tribunal to review the legality of banning the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) and its associated groups. This follows a recent five-year extension of the ban, initially imposed in 1990, citing ULFA’s continued efforts to secede Assam from India, involvement in extortion and violence, and links to other insurgent groups.

The tribunal, headed by Justice Michael Zothankhuma of the Gauhati High Court, will determine whether sufficient grounds exist to declare ULFA an unlawful association under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. The MHA’s decision comes after a November notification detailing ULFA’s alleged activities, including possession of illegal arms, involvement in numerous criminal cases, and the planting of explosives. The notification also highlighted the arrest and surrender of numerous ULFA cadres and the recovery of weapons and explosives.

ULFA is one of seventeen organizations currently designated as unlawful associations by the MHA, a list which also includes groups like the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), various Meitei extremist organizations, and the Popular Front of India (PFI) and its affiliates. The MHA has the power to declare any organization an unlawful association nationwide under the 1967 Act. The tribunal’s findings will be crucial in determining the future status of ULFA under Indian law.