The state of Maharashtra has introduced the Maharashtra Special Public Security Act (MSPSA) after declaring the region a focal point for urban Maoist activity, citing 64 active frontal organisations—the highest in the country.
The legislation was presented in an affidavit filed in the Bombay High Court on 8 October 2026, in response to petitions that challenge the act’s constitutional validity. The government argued that the growing presence of urban Maoist networks required a robust legal framework to prevent and tackle unlawful, subversive and extremist activities.
The MSPSA, passed by the State Assembly in July and assented to by President Droupadi Murmu in December, defines four offences that can lead to punishment: membership of an unlawful organisation; non‑members raising funds for such an organisation; assisting in its management; or committing an unlawful activity. It also grants the state government the authority to label any suspected group as an unlawful organisation.
Petitions were filed by the Congress, the Communist Party of India and social activists, who contend that the act confers wide‑ranging, arbitrary and excessive powers on the executive, allowing it to ban organisations and seize property under vague definitions. A bench of Chief Justice M.C. Tripathi and Justice Advait Sethna granted the petitioners time to submit a rejoinder, while the government sought dismissal of the petitions on the ground that the petitioners had not suffered direct legal injury.
