UAPA tribunal upholds ban on PFI, affiliates

In a big blow to Popular Front of India (PFI), a tribunal set up under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act upheld the ban imposed upon it and its affiliated outfits by the Union government.

The tribunal, set up on October 3, 2022, was headed by Delhi High Court judge Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma. It has sent its decision to the Union ministry of home affairs.

The tribunal examined the causes for declaring these organisations as unlawful associations.

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On September 28, 2022, the Centre has banned PFI and its associates or affiliates or fronts including Rehab India Foundation (RIF), Campus Front of India (CFI), All India Imams Council (AC), National Confederation of Human Rights Organisation (NCHRO), National Women's Front, Junior Front, Empower India Foundation and Rehab Foundation, Kerala for five years.

The notification had claimed the decision has come after years of investigations against the organisation for being involved in "several criminal and terror cases" and having links with the terror outfits like the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (IS) and Jamat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).

The government had also claimed that some of PFI's founding members are the leaders of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and PFI has linkages with Jamat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), both of which are proscribed organisations.