NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court rejected a plea by the Popular Front of India challenging the central government’s decision to impose a five-year ban on the outfit and its eight affiliated organisations.
A bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi asked the petitioner led by senior advocate Shyam Divan as to why it did not approach the High Court. The court also questioned why it filed the special leave petition without approaching the HC.
Divan said he also advised for invoking the jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution.
The court then dismissed the petition with the liberty to approach the High Court.
The plea also challenged validity of an order by the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act's Tribunal headed by Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma in March, this year upholding the ban.
The tribunal was set up on October 3, 2022.
The tribunal examined if there is sufficient cause or not for declaring these organisations, as an unlawful association.
On September 28, 2022, the Centre has banned Popular Front of India (PFI) and its associates or affiliates or fronts including Rehab India Foundation (RIF) Campus Front of India (CFI), All India Imams Council (AC), National Confederation of Human Rights Organization (NCHRO) National Women's Front. Junior Front, Empower India Foundation and Rehab Foundation, Kerala for five years.
The decision was made after years of investigations for being involved in "several criminal and terror cases" and having links with the terror outfits like the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Jamat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).
There were also allegations that the banned Student Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) besides PFI have close links with many terrorist organisations.
The government order had said that some of PFI's founding members are the leaders of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and PFI has linkages with Jamat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), both of which are proscribed organisations.
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