NIA opposes PFI leader's plea for custody parole in Delhi High Court

New Delhi: The NIA on Friday opposed in the Delhi High Court a plea of Popular Front of India leader OMA Salam seeking a 15-day custody parole.

Salam, arrested in an Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act case against the proscribed organisation and its members, sought permission to travel in custody to his hometown in Kerala for ceremonies over his daughter's passing.

The counsel for National Investigation Agency (NIA) said Salam's daughter passed away a year ago and while the agency had no objection to the accused visiting his hometown for a day, custody parole for 15 days was not possible.

He argued there was no ceremony that goes on for 15 days and sought time from the court to verify the claim.

"You can't invent a ceremony," the counsel said.

Posting the hearing on April 28, Justice Ravinder Dudeja said the NIA should have verified about the ceremony by now.

"Ceremony name is given. You should have verified by now. Agency has network in all the places," the judge said.

Salam's counsel said certain religious ceremonies, including reciting prayers at the daughter's grave and home, and recital of the verses of the holy book, had to be observed going by local beliefs and practice.

Saying the rituals would take place between April 18 and May 2, Salam's lawyer urged the court to grant custody parole of at least six days.

Salam moved the high court earlier this week against a trial court order, which granted him a day and six hours of custody parole.

Custody parole entails a prisoner being escorted by armed police personnel to the place of visit.

PFI chairperson Salam was arrested by NIA in a massive crackdown on the banned organisation in 2022.

The probe agency alleged the PFI, its officer bearers and members hatched a criminal conspiracy to raise funds for committing acts of terror in various parts of the country aside from conducting camps to indoctrinate and train their cadres for this purpose.

Preceding the nationwide ban, in near-simultaneous raids across the country as part of a multi-agency operation spearheaded by the NIA, a large number of PFI activists were detained or arrested in 11 states for allegedly supporting terror activities in the country.

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

The government banned the PFI and several of its associate wings on September 28, 2022 for five years under the stringent anti-terror law, the Unlawful Activities (prevention) Act (UAPA), accusing them of having links with global terror groups like the ISIS.

Last year, Salam sought interim bail from the high court on the ground that his wife was in a "depressive state" following the death of his daughter.

The high court, however, rejected the plea calling Salam was "a person of great influence" and someone who managed and administered PFI for several years.

Enlarging him on interim bail would not only entail flight risk but also the possibility of several witnesses being influenced, it added.