Supreme Court Grants Bail To Alleged PFI Member Accused Of Planning To Cause Disturbance During PM’s Visit To Patna

The Supreme Court has granted bail to an alleged member of the banned organization PFI (Popular Front of India) being accused of planning to cause disturbance during the proposed visit of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Patna.

The Court was dealing with a Criminal Appeal filed by the accused seeking bail during the pendency of trial after dismissal of his Bail Application by the Patna High Court.

The two-Judge Bench of Justice Abhay S. Oka and Justice Augustine George Masih said, “The Appellant was arrested on 12.07.2022. He has undergone custody for more than two years and four months. Chargesheet was filed on 07.01.2023 but till date charges have not been framed which is an admitted position. There are 40 accused and 354 witnesses cited by the prosecution to be examined. There can be no doubt that the trial is not likely to complete soon, and as has been laid down by various judgments of this Court as has been referred to above, the Appellant cannot be allowed to languish in jail indefinitely and that too without a trial. If such an approach is allowed Article 21 of the Constitution of India would stand violated.”

Senior Advocate Aditya Sondhi appeared for the Appellant while ASG Aishwarya Bhati appeared for the Respondent.

Brief Facts -

The Appellant was booked as accused in an FIR registered under Sections 120, 120-B, 121, 121A, 153A, 153B, and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). He along with a co-accused was arrested in July 2022. The allegations against him were that he was an active member of PFI and he along with his associates were allegedly planning to cause disturbance during the proposed visit of Prime Minister of India to Patna. This led to the raid being conducted at first floor Ahmad Palace, Phulwari Sharif, Patna which was taken on rent by the Appellant from the co-accused. During the raid certain recoveries were carried out, prominent amongst them was a document titled “India 2047 towards rule of Islam in India, internal Document not for circulation”.

Assertions were made in the Complaint on the basis of the documents seized that the Appellant along with the other members of the PFI aimed at disrupting the sovereignty of India and cause disaffection against the country. Keeping in view the seriousness of the allegations and the offences involved, the Government of India vide Official Order directed the National Investigating Agency (NIA) to take up the investigation. Accordingly, the NIA re-registered a case under Section 13 of the of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA) and took up the investigation. The Appellant was before the Apex Court, seeking bail.

The Supreme Court in view of the above facts, noted, “Allegations against the Appellant with regard to having collected Zakat from the people for helping the PFI or recruiting members of PFI. Suffice it to say at this stage, that on the day such activities were carried out by the Appellant, PFI was not a banned organisation.”

The Court added that, none of the witnesses or the protected witnesses stated that the money so collected in the form of Zakat was ever misappropriated by the Appellant or was in any manner used for illegal activities and that the statement of the protected witnesses has not mentioned anything specific that would be attributed to the Appellant which could prima facie attract charges under the UAPA.

“The Appellant for this purpose shall be produced before the Special Court within a maximum period of 07 days from today. The Special Court shall enlarge the Appellant on bail until the conclusion of the trial on appropriate terms and conditions after hearing the Counsel for the Respondent”, it directed.

Accordingly, the Apex Court allowed the Appeal, set aside the impugned Judgment, and granted bail to the accused.

Cause Title- Athar Parwez v. Union of India (Neutral Citation: 2024 INSC 995)

Appearance:

Appellant: Senior Advocate Aditya Sondhi, AOR Shashank Singh, Advocates Divyesh Pratap Singh, Adil Sharfuddin, Anubhav Kumar, Maeen Mavaram, and Prapti Shrivastava.

Respondent: ASG Aishwarya Bhati, AOR Arvind Kumar Sharma, Advocates Shivika Mehra, Bani Dikshit, Seema Bengani, Parantap Singh, Rajeshwari Shankar, and Pooja Kumari.

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