The Delhi High Court on Wednesday granted six-hour custody parole to now-banned Popular Front of India (PFI) national coordinator Ibrahim Puthanathani, arrested under the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, to attend his daughter’s wedding.
Mr. Puthanathani had moved the High Court against a trial court order on May 24, releasing him on custody parole of four hours.
In October last year, the Chavakkad police arrested Mr. Puthanathani along with two other PFI leaders.
A vacation Bench of Justices Jasmeet Singh and Vikas Mahajan granted custody parole of six hours to Mr. Puthanathani to participate in the wedding ceremony scheduled to be held on June 18 in Kerala.
Mr. Puthanathani’s counsel urged the court to grant him interim bail of 30 days, saying he could not be a spectator as he had responsibilities to perform on account of his daughter’s wedding and that he would not pose a flight risk on such an occasion.
“We are inclined to extend the custody parole from four hours to six hours,” the High Court said.
National Investigation Agency (NIA) counsel said that as per applicable rules, custody parole could not be granted for a period beyond six hours.
‘Criminal conspiracy’
The case against Mr. Puthanathani and several other PFI leaders, registered in April last year, pertains to an alleged criminal conspiracy hatched by persons associated with the PFI to raise and collect funds from within India and abroad for committing acts of terror in various parts of India.
The NIA has alleged that the accused persons were conducting training camps to indoctrinate and train their cadres to carry out terrorist activities.
In September last year, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) declared the PFI as an “unlawful association” under the UAPA. A large number of alleged PFI activists were detained in several States following a massive nationwide crackdown.
The Ministry had said that the group also has links to global terrorist organisations such as the Islamic State (IS) and participated in terror activities in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. It said the PFI cadres linked to the IS had been killed in these conflict theatres and some were arrested by the State police and Central agencies.
In its chargesheet against the PFI, the NIA alleged that there was a criminal conspiracy to divide the country on communal lines, with the ultimate objective of overthrowing “the existing system of secular and democratic governance in India” and replacing “it with an Islamic Caliphate, along with Shariah/Islamic law”. Young men were being radicalised and trained in the use of arms and weapons, it said.
Published - June 15, 2023 02:52 am IST
