Karnataka High Court upholds ban on PFI, affiliates

Highlights

• The Karnataka High Court upheld the notification issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, giving immediate effect to the ban on the Popular Front of India and its affiliates or front, declaring them ‘unlawful associations’ for five years, for allegedly having international links with terrorist groups like the ISIS.

• The notification dated September 27 has two parts — the first declaring the PFI ban ‘unlawful’, and the second bringing it into effect immediately. As the first part was referred to the Tribunal constituted in terms of Section 4 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for adjudication, the petitioner Nasir Pasha, a member of PFI, had questioned the second part of the notification which gives immediate effect to the ban, on the ground that separate reasons are not recorded, in terms of Section 3(3) of the Act.

• Justice M Nagaprasanna dismissed the petition filed by Pasha, represented by his wife Arshiya Fathima, as he is in judicial custody. Justice Nagaprasanna observed that the impugned notification would indicate that reasons are present in the notification itself. Article 19(1)(c)  (fundamental right to form associations or unions) on which much emphasis is laid, can have reasonable restrictions imposed under certain circumstances under Article 19(4) in the interest of the sovereignty and integrity of India, or public order, or morality.

• “I do not find any warrant that would entail interference at the hands of this court. Any further consideration of the submissions made by the senior counsel for the petitioner would prejudice proceedings before the Tribunal,” the judge said, referring to the Delhi HC  verdict on the ban on Islamic Research Foundation with immediate effect, based on the SC  verdict.