The Supreme Court of India cancelled the bail granted by the Madras High Court to eight members of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) accused of conspiring to commit terrorist acts across the country.
NEW DELHI: Today( 22nd May): The Supreme Court of India cancelled the bail granted by the Madras High Court to eight members of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI). The accused were booked under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for allegedly being members of the PFI and conspiring to commit terrorist acts across the country.
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A Bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal, while hearing an appeal by the NIA against the Madras High Court order, said that given the gravity of the offence and the fact that only 1.5 years had been spent in incarceration, the Court could interfere and cancel their bail.
“Having regard to the gravity of the offence and the only 1.5 years spent in incarceration given the maximum punishment, we are inclined to interfere with HC order granting bail. Courts can interfere with orders granting personal liberty if the same is perverse,” the Court said.
Consequently, the bail was revoked.
The Court further stated,
“Upon initial examination, sufficient evidence has been presented by the investigating agency to establish a prima facie case.”
The legal representation in the case featured Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, along with a team of advocates including Rajat Nair, Srishti Mishra, Satvika Thakur, Raman Yadav, Sakshi Kakkar, Sarthak Karol, Annam Venkatesh, and Arvind Kumar Sharma, who appeared on behalf of the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
On the other side, the accused were represented by Senior Advocates Mukta Gupta, Rebecca John, and Shyam Divan, along with advocates S Balakrishnan, Rizwan Ahmad, A Nowfal, Nitya Gupta, Javed R Shaikh, Abdul Shukoor, Shereef Ka, Anushka Baruah, Devansh A Mohta, A Selvin Raja, A Raja Mohamed, VS Banu, and Khalid Akthar.
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The case against the accused was that several documents, including “pictures with markings” of RSS leaders and other Hindu organizations, were found in their possession, suggesting that these leaders were on a “hit list.”
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had also claimed that based on a “vision document,” the PFI had an objective to gain political power and work towards the establishment of an Islamic government in India by the year 2047.
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The individuals accused in the case were apprehended by the NIA in September of the previous year. The agency alleged that it had received intelligence indicating that numerous members of the Popular Front of India (PFI) were plotting to orchestrate terrorist activities in various states across India, including Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and others.
Following their arrest, the appellants sought bail, which was initially denied by a special court in January of the current year. Subsequently, they appealed this decision before the High Court.
The High Court had earlier noted that while the NIA charged the appellants of being involved in collecting funds for “committing terrorist acts,” there was nothing on record to link them directly to any terrorist activities.
However, the Supreme Court found that a prima facie case had been made out based on the material placed before it by the agency.
Case Tittle: Union of India vs Barakatullah
