Hans News Service New Delhi

TheSupreme Court on Tuesday ruled that the confession statement of an accused cannot be the basis for detaining him under the National Security Act. A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu delivered the judgment while quashing the preventive detention of Mulla Afroz. Uttar Pradesh Police invoked the strict National Security Act (NSA) against Mulla Afroz in October 2025 for his alleged role in the 2024 communal violence in Sambhal. The top court imposed a cost of Rs 10 lakh on the government for passing the illegal preventive detention order. The NSA empowers the Centre and states to detain individuals to prevent them from acting in a manner "prejudicial to the defence of India". The maximum detention period is 12 months, though it can be revoked earlier. Tension brewed in Sambhal in November 2024, when a court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid there was being carried out following claims that a Harihar temple previously existed atthe site.