On Thursday, a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court rejected the bail application of 42-year-old lawyer Sadique Qureshi who was arrested last year for alleged links with the banned Popular Front of India (PFI).
“The act of the applicant (Sadique Qureshi) was not limited to providing legal help to the PFI organisation, but it appears from the material placed on record that he was involved in unlawful activities. The applicant was having active participation in unlawful activities & was collecting funds for PFI organisation. He was arranging various programmes & administering the activities of PFI,” special judge BD Shelke said while rejecting Qureshi’s bail plea.
The defence had applied for bail on grounds that he had been made into a scapegoat by the investigating agency due to political pressure. He contended that he was a legal practitioner, engaged in social activities, & that some of the co-accused & witnesses in the case were his clients, but he was unaware of their involvement in such activities of the organisation.
“Mere membership of PFI is not an offence, it must be established that the organisation is engaged in terrorist activities. There is no material on record showing that activities carried out by the PFI were banned activities. There is no document showing what plan was hatched against the nation by members of the gang,” the defence claimed.
Rebutting the claims, special public prosecutor Sunil Gonsalves, who represented the state, submitted that on September 27, 2022, a notification was issued by the government of India banning the PFI. “Many members from the Mohammedan community from different cities were office bearers & members of this organisation. They were in contact with each other. The applicant was the administrator of all the activities. Everything was done according to his advice & guidance,” Gonsalves said.
Qureshi was booked under sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 121-A (conspiracy to commit offences), 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence. language, etc., & doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) of the Indian Penal Code & section 13(1)(b) (punishment for unlawful activities) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
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(With input from news agency language)
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