Centre sets up tribunal to assess ban on Jamaat-e-Islami J&K

Srinagar: The Centre has constituted the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Tribunal, headed by a Delhi High Court judge, to decide whether there is sufficient cause for declaring Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) Jammu and Kashmir as an unlawful association.

A notification issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA in this regard on Wednesday, reads: "Jamaat-e-Islami, Jammu and Kashmir (JeI) has been declared as an unlawful association, vide notification dated February 27, 2024, published in the Gazette of India.”

“Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 5 read with sub-section (1) of section 4 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (37 of 1967), the Central Government hereby constitutes the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Tribunal consisting of Justice Navin Chawla, Judge, High Court of Delhi, to adjudicate whether or not there is sufficient cause for declaring the Jamaat-e-Islami, Jammu and Kashmir (JeI) as unlawful association,” the MHA stated in its notification.

The government in its February 27 notification while extending the ban on the JeI for another five years said it was of the opinion that the Jamaat is “in close touch with terrorism outfits” and is supporting "extremism and terrorism" in Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere.

To extend the ban, the notification mentioned 47 cases registered against JeI across the Union Territory (UT).  “The JeI is in close touch with militant outfits and is continuously supporting extremism and militancy in J&K and elsewhere; is supporting claims for secession of a part of the Indian territory from the Union and supporting terrorist and separatist groups fighting for this purpose by indulging in activities and articulations intended to disrupt the territorial integrity of India, is involved in anti-national and subversive activities in the country intended to cause disaffection.”

Jamaat-e-Islami J&K, a socio-political and religious organization, has long been at the center of the Kashmir conflict, advocating for separatist ideologies and challenging Indian sovereignty in the region.

The organisation was initially banned in February 2019 following the deadly terror attack in Pulwama in which 40 paramilitary CRPF personnel were killed.

The JeI follows the teachings of Maulana Maududi, Syed Qutb, and Hasan Al Banna- the society and politics should be conducted in line with the divine law of Sharia. In the political domain, the JeI supports Pakistan’s claim on Kashmir.