Centre forms tribunal to review ULFA’s status

The Centre on Tuesday set up an Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Tribunal to determine whether there is sufficient cause to declare the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), including all its factions, wings and front organisations, as an unlawful association.

The tribunal will be headed by Justice Michael Zothankhuma of the Gauhati High Court.

The MHA decided to constitute the tribunal almost a month after it extended the ban on the ULFA for the next five years for its role in continuing to work to secede Assam from India and maintain links with other insurgent groups for extortion and violence.

The outfit was first banned in 1990 and since then, the ban has been extended periodically. It was last banned under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of 1967 on November 27, 2019.

While extending the ban, the MHA, in a notification issued at the end of November, categorically stated that the ULFA, along with all its factions, wings and front organisations, was involved in activities prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India.