Bombay High Court grants bail to lawyer arrested for links to PFI, says 'no evidence of terror act'

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Friday granted bail to a lawyer arrested for alleged links to the banned terror outfit Popular Front of India (PFI), observing there was no evidence that he had committed any terrorist act or instigated others.

A division bench of Justices Sarang Kotwal and S M Modak also noted that the accused -- Shaikh Sadique Isaq Qureshi -- was in jail since his arrest in September 2022.

He was arrested by the Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

The prosecution claimed that the ATS had recovered a `road-map document' from the accused's mobile phone, titled as 'Draft-booklet-on-roadmap-for Regaining the glory of Islam in India-by 2047(1)'.

As per the ATS, Qureshi used his knowledge of law to instigate youths to participate in acts against the nation.

The high court, however, said there was no material on record to show that he was "instigating the members to commit any offence or wage war against India." "In the present case, no role is ascribed to the appellant of committing any terrorist act," it said.

Undoubtedly, the objectives of the document found on his phone were extremely dangerous, but there was nothing to show that Qureshi had acted in any manner in support of the document or even propagated its ideas and objectives, the judges said.

The bench also noted that as per the prosecution, it intended to examine 60 of 250 witnesses mentioned in the charge sheet, and charges were yet to be framed in the case.

The prosecution had claimed that the objective of the accused persons in the case was to establish the rule of their own religion and substitute the Constitution of India with their own personal law.

It also relied on certain lectures given by Qureshi.

The court, however, said it did not find anything wrong in the accused giving lectures where he said "our democracy is dependent on Courts, Media and Administration."