Special NIA Court Convicts ISIS Terrorist Subahani Haja Mohideen [READ JUDGMENT]

Subahani Haja Mohideen, a 35-years old resident of Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in October 2016. The NIA seized inculpating materials from his residence which establishes his link from the infamous terrorist organization ISIS. A special court for NIA cases in Ernakulam Kerela on September 25th, 2020 found him guilty and sentenced him to life imprisonment for his connection in the ISIS Omar Al-Hindi module case.

The charges on him were filed under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 and under the Indian Penal Code, 1860. Under UA(P), 1967 the charges were under Section 20 i.e. punishment for being a member of a terrorist gang or organization; Section 38 i.e. offense relating to membership of a terrorist organization; Section 39 i.e. offense relating to support given to a terrorist organization. Under IPC, 1860 he was charged under Section 125 i.e. waging war against India, Section 120B i.e. criminal conspiracy. He was also charged under Section 122 of IPC, 1860. 

The Special Judge P. Krishna Kumar holding that the prosecution has proved its case beyond reasonable doubt found the accused guilty and convicted him under Section 120B r/w Sections 20, 38, and 39 of the UA(P) Act, Section 125 of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 20, 38 and 39 of the UA(P) Act. The accused was further acquitted of the offense punishable under Section 122 of the Indian Penal Code. The convict was sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life and to pay a fine of Rs.1, 00, 000/- with a default prison term for one month under Section 20 of the UA(P) Act.

He is also sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for seven years and to pay a fine of Rs.1, 00, 000/- with a default prison term for one month under Section 125 of IPC. Further, he is sentenced for rigorous imprisonment for five years and to pay a fine of Rs.10, 000/- with a default prison term for one month under Section 120B of the IPC r/w sec. 20, 38, and 39 of the UA(P) Act. The convict is also sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 7 years each under Section 38 and 39 of the UA(P) Act. All the substantive sentences imposed on the convict shall be running concurrently. Further, he is entitled to get set off under section 428 of the Cr.P.C for the entire period during which he has been detained in this case (from 05.10.2016 till today) if appropriate orders are passed by the competent authority under section 432 or Section 433 of the Cr.P.C. 

The Court further said that The act of the convict is a blot on the cultural conscience of this State. It is also a blow to its pride as one of the most progressive societies in the nation. It is a painful realization that youthful people are indoctrinated by such extremist ideologies and they are even prepared to renounce the eternal tie with their mother country, seemingly on their wishful thought that they could embrace their own paradise in that attempt. Let us hope that Shri. SubahaniHaja, once duly reformed, will tell them that the best rule of paradise must be the rule of law preserved by the Constitution of India.

The Court mainly relied upon the testimony of JS Mohammed Kamal a co-accused turned approver in this case. 

On October 3rd, 2016 when searches were conducted in the house of the accused in Tamil Nadu, incriminating materials were found which indicates his travel to the theatre of conflict in West Asia. A forensic examination of his clothes and of his body proves that he was in a war zone in Iraq. Further, it was established that on his return to India he tried to procure explosive chemicals to carry out attacks on India which were ordered by his handlers from Islamic State. The investigation further revealed that he illegally crossed lines over to Iraq from Turkey in 2015 and joined Iraq using the name of Abu-Jasmine Al-Hindi and was also deployed in ISIS military formation Umar IbnuKhatabKhatiba. He was also associated with Usman Ghani who was involved in the 13/11 Paris attack of 2015. 

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