Full list of individuals designated as ‘terrorist’ under the UAPA

The Ministry of Home Affairs maintains a running Fourth Schedule under the UAPA listing all individuals officially designated as 'terrorists' — a power that ...

What Happened

The Ministry of Home Affairs maintains a running Fourth Schedule under the UAPA listing all individuals officially designated as 'terrorists' — a power that exists only since the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act, 2019.
The first four individuals ever designated under this power (2019–2020) were Masood Azhar (JeM chief), Hafiz Muhammad Saeed (LeT founder), Dawood Ibrahim (criminal-terror nexus), and Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi (LeT commander) — all named in connection with major attacks on India.
As of July 4, 2026, with the addition of 23 more individuals affiliated with JeM, LeT, TRF, and JuD, the Fourth Schedule now lists a total of 80 designated individual terrorists.
The most recent addition prior to July 2026 was JeM commander Ashiq Ahmed Nengroo, bringing context to the running expansion of this list.
The list is publicly maintained on the MHA's website and updated through official gazette notifications.

Static Topic Bridges

UAPA's Fourth Schedule — Constitutional and Statutory Basis

The power to designate individuals as terrorists did not exist in Indian law until 2019. The original UAPA (1967) targeted unlawful organisations; terrorism provisions were added only in 2004. The 2019 Amendment created Section 35(1)(b) and the Fourth Schedule, explicitly mirroring the international practice seen in UN Security Council sanctions lists, where individuals — not just organisations — are listed for targeted measures.

Constitutional hook: UAPA draws from Entry 1 (Defence of India) and Entry 93 (Prevention of activities against state) of the Union List, and from Article 19(2)/(4) — reasonable restrictions on fundamental rights in the interest of sovereignty and integrity.
16th Constitutional Amendment, 1963: Required oaths of allegiance to the Constitution from legislators; empowered Parliament to restrict fundamental rights to protect national integrity — the legal genesis of the UAPA.
Section 35, UAPA: Central Government may, by order published in the Official Gazette, add a person's name to the Fourth Schedule.
Judicial challenge: The constitutionality of the individual-designation power is pending before the Supreme Court (Sajal Awasthi v. Union of India, notice issued September 7, 2019). Critics argue it violates Article 14 (equality), Article 19 (freedom of expression and association), and Article 21 (right to life and personal liberty) due to absence of prior judicial scrutiny.
Review Committee (Section 36): Headed by a retired judge of a High Court, but is an executive body — not a court. The designated individual may apply for review but cannot directly challenge the designation in a court without exhausting this mechanism.

Connection to this news: Every name on the Fourth Schedule — from the first four designations in 2019 to the 80th in 2026 — entered through this same Section 35 executive notification process, highlighting the steady expansion of the executive's counterterrorism toolkit.

History and Pattern of UAPA Individual Designations

The expansion of the Fourth Schedule from 0 to 80 individuals over 2019–2026 reveals a strategic pattern: initial designations targeted globally known figures (Masood Azhar, Hafiz Saeed, Dawood Ibrahim, Lakhvi) who were already on UN/US lists. Subsequent rounds targeted mid-level operational commanders — launching commanders, financiers, recruiters, and infiltration specialists — making the designation tool operationally significant rather than merely symbolic.

First four designees (2019–2020): Masood Azhar (JeM), Hafiz Muhammad Saeed (LeT/JuD), Dawood Ibrahim (D-Company/ISI nexus), Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi (LeT) — all on international watchlists before their Indian designation.
57 individuals designated before the July 2026 batch (cumulative figure from 2019 through mid-2026).
80 individuals designated after the July 4, 2026 gazette notification (23 added in this batch).
Designations are biased toward Pakistan-based operatives: most individuals on the list operate from Pakistan or PoJK and are beyond India's law-enforcement reach — the designation's primary effect is financial disruption and international signalling.
The list includes Indian nationals who defected to Pakistan-based terror networks — a distinct category from foreign operatives.

Connection to this news: The progression from 4 to 80 designations tracks India's graduated escalation of the individual-designation mechanism as a counterterrorism instrument — each round targeting deeper into operational command chains.

India's Dual-Track Approach — Domestic Law and International Pressure

India uses UAPA designations in conjunction with efforts at international forums to internationalise accountability for Pakistan-based terror networks. The two tracks are: (1) domestic UAPA designations enabling NIA-led enforcement; and (2) pushing for UN Security Council listing (under Resolution 1267) and FATF grey-listing of Pakistan. These tracks reinforce each other — a domestic designation strengthens India's dossier when pressing for international listings, and international listings give India leverage to demand extradition or third-country asset freezes.

UN Security Council 1267 Sanctions Committee: Established 1999; maintains consolidated list of individuals/entities associated with Al-Qaeda, ISIS, and Taliban; requires all 193 UN member states to impose asset freeze, travel ban, and arms embargo.
LeT and JeM on UNSC list: Both designated; India periodically moves to list individual operatives at UNSC but has faced Chinese vetoes on key figures (e.g., Masood Azhar was blocked three times before finally listed in May 2019).
FATF (Financial Action Task Force): India is a full FATF member; pushed for Pakistan's grey-listing (achieved June 2018–October 2022) for insufficient action on terror financing.
NIA's role: Each domestic designation empowers NIA to freeze the individual's finances — serving as India's unilateral enforcement tool when multilateral action is blocked.

Connection to this news: The 80-name Fourth Schedule is India's sovereign counterpart to the UNSC consolidated list — a domestic instrument that operates independently of international politics and is not subject to P-5 veto power.

Key Facts & Data

Total UAPA Fourth Schedule designees (July 2026): 80 individuals
Designees before July 2026 batch: 57 individuals
First designees (2019–2020): Masood Azhar, Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, Dawood Ibrahim, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi
Section enabling individual designation: Section 35, UAPA (inserted by 2019 Amendment)
Relevant Schedule: Fourth Schedule, UAPA
Review mechanism: Section 36 Review Committee (executive body, retired High Court judge)
UAPA enacted: December 30, 1967
2019 Amendment enacted: August 8, 2019 (Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act, 2019)
Constitutional challenge: Sajal Awasthi v. Union of India (Supreme Court notice: September 7, 2019)
UN Resolution for individual terrorism listing: UNSC Resolution 1267 (1999); updated by Resolutions 1989 (2011) and 2253 (2015)
Masood Azhar — UN listing: May 2019 (after three Chinese vetoes in UNSC between 2009 and 2017)
Pakistan FATF grey-listing: June 2018 to October 2022
16th Constitutional Amendment: 1963 (legal basis for UAPA's restrictions on fundamental rights in interest of national integrity)