Maharashtra bans 114 radical publications linked to ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen
Synopsis
Maharashtra has issued one of India's most sweeping single-order publication bans — 114 titles linked to ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, including bomb-making manuals and dozens of jihadi magazines, are now subject to immediate police seizure anywhere in the country under new BNSS powers.
Key Takeaways
The Maharashtra Home Department ordered forfeiture of 114 radical publications, manuals, and digital materials on 6 August via gazette Notification No.
SUT-0526/CR.276/SPL-4 .
Banned content is linked to ISIS/ISKP , Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (Pir Panjal Regiment) , and Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) .
The order includes 47 issues of 'Voice of Khurasan' , 17 editions of 'The Revolutionary Resurgence' , and 13 issues of 'Nawai Gazwa e Hind' , among others.
Operational manuals on explosives, petrol bombs, and anonymity techniques are also listed for seizure.
Powers under Section 98(1) of the BNSS, 2023 allow police officers across India to seize listed materials; magistrates can authorise search warrants for premises.
The crackdown follows an ATS, Maharashtra letter dated 17 March , backed by intelligence inputs and cyber surveillance.
The Maharashtra government's Home Department has ordered the immediate forfeiture of 114 radical publications, manuals, magazines, and digital propaganda materials linked to globally proscribed terrorist organisations, including the Islamic State (ISIS/ISKP), Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, and Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS). The official gazette notification, published on 6 August under Notification No. SUT-0526/CR.276/SPL-4, invokes powers under Section 98(1) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, empowering police officers across India to seize any listed material on sight.
What Triggered the Crackdown
The forfeiture order traces its origins to a formal communication sent on 17 March by the Additional Director General of Police, Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), Maharashtra. The ATS flagged that the materials — spanning physical prints, photographs, audio-video content, and digital files — attract serious penal liability under Sections 152, 196, 197, and 299 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. The groundwork drew on intelligence inputs, cyber surveillance reports, and multi-layered investigations conducted by the ATS, Mumbai.
What the Banned List Covers
The gazette notification categorises the banned content under four broad heads. Under Islamic State / ISIS / ISKP (Al-Azaim Media), the list includes 47 separate issues of the magazine 'Voice of Khurasan' (Issues 1–26, 28–34, 36–38, and 40–47), audio/video propaganda such as 'Tawheed Lectures' broadcast by 'Al-Bayan Radio', and pamphlets including 'Are You Still Sitting?', 'Why Should You Join the Islamic State', and 'Nida e Khurasan'.
Under Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (Pir Panjal Regiment), 17 editions of 'The Revolutionary Resurgence' — spanning October 2023 through December 2025 — are listed for forfeiture. The Al-Qaeda / AQIS / Regional Outfits category covers 10 issues of 'Kashmir Kifah – Resilience & Courage', seven issues of 'The Soul Of Resistance', and 13 issues of 'Nawai Gazwa e Hind' published between January 2024 and January 2026.
A fourth category — Instructional Warfare & Operational Manuals — includes tactical guides detailing weapons and explosive fabrication, among them titles on explosives basics, petrol bomb construction, a guide on making a suicide rocket (Zarqawi 1), chemical explosives based on hydrogen peroxide, methods for maintaining anonymity, and a security and intelligence course.
Scope of Enforcement Powers
Under the Section 98 forfeiture declaration, police officers across India are authorised to seize physical or digital copies of any listed publication wherever found. Magistrates may additionally issue warrants permitting officers of the rank of Sub-Inspector or above to enter and search premises where such materials are suspected to be stored or distributed.
Why the Government Says It Acted
State authorities stressed that eliminating access to these materials across physical, electronic, and social media channels is critical to protecting vulnerable youth from radicalisation networks. The notification formally characterises the content as ideologically violent extremist and jihadi propaganda designed to facilitate recruitment, promote radicalisation, and incite acts prejudicial to India's sovereignty, integrity, and public order. This is one of the most comprehensive single-order publication bans issued by any Indian state government under the new BNSS framework.
Point of View
Including operational bomb-making guides, represent a qualitatively different threat level than mere propaganda. What stands out is the invocation of BNSS Section 98, a relatively untested provision of India's new criminal code framework, signalling that states are now willing to use these powers aggressively. The harder question is enforcement: digital materials are borderless, and a gazette notification does not automatically translate into effective removal from encrypted channels or dark-web repositories where such content typically circulates. Whether the ATS has the cyber capacity to match the legal authority it now holds is the real test of this order's impact.
NationPress
7 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What has the Maharashtra government banned?
The Maharashtra Home Department has ordered the immediate forfeiture of 114 radical publications, manuals, magazines, and digital propaganda materials linked to ISIS/ISKP, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, and Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS). The gazette notification was published on 6 August under Notification No. SUT-0526/CR.276/SPL-4.
Under which law was the forfeiture order issued?
The order was issued under Section 98(1) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023. This provision empowers police officers across India to seize listed physical or digital materials on sight, and allows magistrates to issue search warrants for premises where such content is suspected to be held.
Which terrorist organisations are the banned materials linked to?
The banned materials are linked to three globally proscribed organisations: the Islamic State (ISIS/ISKP), Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (Pir Panjal Regiment), and Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS). The list also includes instructional warfare manuals not attributed to a single group.
What specific publications are on the banned list?
Key titles include 47 issues of 'Voice of Khurasan', 17 editions of 'The Revolutionary Resurgence', 13 issues of 'Nawai Gazwa e Hind', 10 issues of 'Kashmir Kifah', and seven issues of 'The Soul Of Resistance', alongside bomb-making guides and audio/video propaganda materials.
Who initiated the crackdown and why?
The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), Maharashtra, wrote to the state government on 17 March, flagging that the materials promote radicalisation, facilitate recruitment, and incite acts against India's sovereignty and public order. The ATS based its findings on intelligence inputs and cyber surveillance investigations.
