UAPA case: SC denies bail to ex-PFI chairman Abubacker on medical grounds

In his plea, Abubacker who is in his 70s, and suffers from Parkinson's disease, stated that he is entitled to bail as the NIA has "miserably" failed to put together a case against him.
Image used for representational purposes.
Image used for representational purposes.
Updated on
3 min read

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday refused to grant bail on medical grounds to former chairman of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) E Abubacker in a case registered against him under anti-terror law UAPA.

Abubacker, who was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) during a massive crackdown on the organisation in 2022, had approached the high court after the trial court rejected his bail application.

A bench of Justices MM Sundresh and Rajesh Bindal said it was not inclined to release Abubacker at this stage after looking at the medical report.

The top court granted liberty to the petitioner to approach the trial court for bail.

It also rejected the submission of senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayan, appearing for Abubacker, that the petitioner may be kept under house arrest if he is not released on bail.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta objected to it and stated that requesting for house arrest has now become a "new concept."

In his plea, Abubacker who is in his 70s, and suffers from Parkinson's disease, stated that he is entitled to bail as the NIA has "miserably" failed to put together a case against him. He also pointed out that he has undergone a surgery for the treatment of cancer.

In July 2021, Stan Swamy, a Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist who suffered from Parkinson's disease died while in prison after being denied bail repeatedly. Stan Swamy, who was an accused in the Elgar Parishad case, died due to cardiac arrest following his contraction of COVID-19 while in prison.

Stan Swamy was denied bail on medical grounds after the NIA in May 2021, submitted an affidavit questioning the medical documents presented as proof of his suffering from Parkinson’s Disease.

In a statement released on February 2022, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention declared Swamy's detention arbitrary and his death "utterly preventable."

Opposing bail to Abubacker, Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, for National Investigation Agency, said all the medical conditions raised by him have been taken care of through various treatments.

The high court had on May 28 last year dismissed Abubacker's plea for bail.

While dismissing his appeal, the high court had said the material on record, including allegations in the charge sheet, statements of the protected witnesses, and the fact that Abubacker was earlier closely associated with SIMI, another banned outfit, showed that the prosecution's case under the UAPA is prima facie true.

According to the central anti-terror agency, the PFI, its office bearers and members hatched a criminal conspiracy to raise funds for committing acts of terror in various parts of the country and were organising camps to indoctrinate and train their cadre for this purpose.

Abubacker was arrested on September 22, 2022.

The arrests were made in Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Delhi and Rajasthan.

The BJP-led Central government banned the PFI and several of its associate organisations on September 28, 2022 for five years under the stringent anti-terror law, accusing them of having links with global terror groups like the ISIS.

The Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), which works with the PFI and is considered its political face, accused the government of cracking down on dissent and alleged that the ban was part of an "undeclared emergency."

"The regime is misusing the investigation agencies and laws to silence the opposition and to scare the people from expressing the voice of dissent. An undeclared emergency is clearly visible in the country," the group said.

(With inputs from Online Desk)

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