NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Thursday reserved its order on the maintainability of a petition filed by the Popular Front of India (PFI) against the Centre’s decision to uphold a five-year ban on the organisation.
A bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, after hearing submissions from both sides, said, “We are reserving order on the maintainability of the petition.”
The PFI had moved court challenging the March 21, 2024 order of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) tribunal, which confirmed the Centre’s September 27, 2022 notification banning the outfit.
The Centre, represented by the additional solicitor general, opposed the petition’s maintainability. He argued that since the UAPA tribunal was presided over by a sitting HC judge, its orders could not be challenged under Article 226 of the Constitution. “The tribunal was manned by a sitting judge of this high court and a high court judge is not subordinate to this court. Article 227 applies to subordinate courts,” he submitted.
Countering this, counsel for the PFI insisted that the writ petition under Article 226 was indeed maintainable against such an order. He pointed out that the tribunal, though headed by a judge, functioned independently of the high court. “There is a provision to the expenses under the UAPA so the high court’s funds do not go to the tribunal. A separate expense has to be provided to the tribunal. The tribunal is able to regulate its own procedure, so the Delhi HC Rules do not apply to the tribunal,” he said.
The PFI’s counsel further contended that the judge, when acting as a tribunal, ceased to function as a high court judge.