NIA court in Kochi denies bail to accused in PFI anti-national activities case

Kochi: A special court here has dismissed the bail plea of an accused in a case probed by NIA relating to the alleged anti-national activities of the banned PFI.

The judge of the Special Court for the National Investigation Agency (NIA) cases, P K Mohandas, on April 29 dismissed the bail petition filed by Shahul Hameed of Kottanadu in Palakkad, the 50th accused in the 2022 case linked to the alleged anti-national activities of the PFI, including the murder of RSS activist Sreenivasan.

Hameed was arrested by the NIA’s Kochi unit on November 11, 2025.

Counsel for the accused submitted that the allegation against Hameed was that he harboured another accused and that no serious overt act had been attributed to him, warranting prolonged incarceration.

Opposing the plea, the NIA submitted that Hameed was an active PFI cadre who knowingly and intentionally became a member of a terrorist gang allegedly formed by the outfit to commit terrorist acts.

The agency alleged that Hameed attended a conspiracy meeting held on April 16, 2022, at a vacant plot behind the District Hospital in Palakkad to plan the murder of Sreenivasan.

The NIA further alleged that he harboured one of the assailants in his house after the murder.

After hearing both sides, the court observed that apart from witness statements, there were materials which prima facie suggested that the petitioner had an active role in the commission of the offence.

The court noted that a similar bail application filed earlier by Hameed had already been dismissed after detailed consideration and that there had been no change in circumstances since then.

It held that there were reasonable grounds for believing that the accusations against Hameed were prima facie true.

Dismissing the bail plea, the court observed that the allegations against the petitioner were serious in nature.

The court also observed that the final report has already been filed and the case is ripe for trial.