New Delhi, Oct 13 The Delhi High Court on Monday held that it would examine the Popular Front of India's (PFI) plea challenging the decision of the UAPA Tribunal to uphold the five-year ban imposed on the organisation by the Central government.
Holding the PFI’s plea “maintainable”, a bench of Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyay and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela sought a response from the Union Home Ministry and listed the matter for further hearing in January next year.
"We hold that this court has jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution to consider an appeal against an order of the UAPA Tribunal. Issue notice. List on January 20," the bench ordered.
Citing its limited role under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution, a previous Bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora, in January last year, had directed the PFI’s counsel to clarify the scope of the petition, saying it cannot function as an appellate authority.
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Chetan Sharma raised objections, cautioning against using the platform for "rabble-rousing" and the plea characterising the ban as an "abuse of process".
The PFI contested the UAPA tribunal's affirmation of the Centre's decision to ban the organisation for alleged links with global terrorist organisations and promoting communal hatred. The ban, imposed on September 27, 2022, is for five years.
In November 2023, the Supreme Court had refused to entertain PFI’s plea and directed it to approach the Delhi High Court first.
The PFI has been accused of connections with proscribed organisations like the SIMI and the JMB.
The Central government, exercising its powers under the UAPA, declared PFI and its affiliated fronts, including the Rehab India Foundation, the Campus Front of India, and others, as "unlawful associations". The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in a notification said that the Central government has decided to ban the PFI as it has been involved in "subversive activities, thereby disturbing public order and undermining the constitutional setup of the country and encouraging and enforcing a terror-based regressive regime".
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