Popular Front of India challenges UAPA Tribunal's decision on 5-year ban in SC

Police attempt to detain Popular Front of India (PFI) workers during a protest against the raid of National Investigation Agency (NIA), in Hubballi. Pic/PTI

The Popular Front of India (PFI) has taken its case to the Supreme Court, contesting an Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) tribunal's affirmation of a five-year ban imposed by the Indian government. The hearing, originally scheduled for today, was postponed after the petitioner requested an adjournment, according to a report by news agency ANI.

According to the report, the PFI's petition challenges the UAPA tribunal's March 21 order, which upheld the government's decision on September 27, 2022, to ban the organization for five years. The ban was enacted on the grounds of alleged connections with global terrorist entities, including ISIS, and its purported involvement in promoting communal discord within the country.

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The government has classified the PFI as an "unlawful association," extending this classification to its associates, affiliates, and fronts, which encompass the Rehab India Foundation (RIF), Campus Front of India (CFI), All India Imams Council (AIIC), National Confederation of Human Rights Organization (NCHRO), National Women's Front, Junior Front, Empower India Foundation, and Rehab Foundation, Kerala.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) notification emphasizes the necessity of declaring the PFI and its associated groups as an "unlawful association" under the UAPA. It further underscores that some of the PFI's founding members are also leaders of the banned organization Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), and the PFI has established connections with Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), both of which are proscribed entities.

The notification elaborates on international linkages of the PFI with global terrorist groups, including the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The government asserts that the PFI, along with its associates and affiliates, has been covertly engaged in efforts to radicalize a particular community by fostering a sense of insecurity within the country. This assertion is substantiated by the fact that some PFI members have reportedly joined international terrorist organizations.

The Ministry of Home Affairs, according to information made public, has banned 39 organisations apart from the Popular Front of India under Section 35 of UAPA. The banned organisations include Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, Jammu and Kashmir Islamic Front, United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), Al Badr, Al-Qaeda, Communist Party of India (Maoist), Indian Mujahideen, Islamic State/ISIS, as well as UN-listed terrorist organizations are also involved.