Bengaluru Court sentences man to 10 years in jail under UAPA for pro-ISIS tweets

A special court in Bengaluru recently found a man guilty of running a Twitter handle to promote the ideology of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and sentenced him to ten years of imprisonment for offences under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA)..Additional Sessions Judge Gangadhara CM found that Mehdi Masroor Biswas had tweeted and retweeted thousands of posts to support the activities of ISIS and glorified ISIS fighters as martyrs. His tweets and retweets also indicated that he had recruited or caused to recruit Muslim youth for the commission of terrorist acts by suggesting that they join ISIS, the Court concluded.“In this case, the prosecution has placed evidence to show that the ISIS fighters used explosive substances and caused the death of persons and also caused destruction of properties with intention to strike terror in the people of Syria, Iran and Iraq and thereby committed terrorist act in a foreign country. The accused recruited and caused to be recruited the persons to ISIS with intention to commit a terrorist act in a foreign country,” the Court said..Biswas, a B. Tech graduate, was arrested in December 2014 after the Bengaluru police received information that he was the brain behind the Twitter handle @shamiwitness. He was booked under various provisions of the UAPA, the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act..After analyzing the evidence on record, the trial court found that Biswas would circulate news emerging from ISIS accounts and also post articles in support of the Islamic State. The accused had 18,000 followers and his Twitter (now X) account was the meeting place for the followers of his account, it further noted.“He used his twitter account to post the tweets pertaining to the terrorist organisations Islamic State of Iraq and Jabhat Al-Nusra for the purpose of encouraging support for the said terrorist organisations and to further the activities of the said terrorist organisations,” the Court remarked..The Court rejected the argument that ISIS was not a terrorist organisation at the time of Biswas' arrest or that he had not supported any banned organisation under the UAPA.It took into account a Karnataka High Court ruling which had held that the United Nations itself had banned ISIS in 2007 and declared it a terrorist organisation“This findings of the Hon’ble High Court of Karnataka has not challenged and it attains finality. Hence, this court cannot record findings contrary to the findings recorded by the Hon’ble High Court of Karnataka,” the judge said..Referring to a criminal charge of waging war against any an Asiatic power in alliance with the Government of India, the Court held that many tweets and retweets of Biswas satisfied the ingredients of this offence under Section 125 of IPC.The Court also held Biswas guilty of promoting enmity among different religions through his tweets and by posting statements with intent to cause alarm and incitement.“The accused has posted several tweets that the Muslims were being killed in Assam. The accused has taken the name of RSS and Shri Narendra Modi in his tweets to show that they are the cause for the killings of the Muslims in Assam. The accused has posted that a policeman assisted Hindu terrorists while attacking a masque and also criticized Hinduthva. All the tweets made by the accused prove the ingredients of the offences under section 153A, 505(1)(b), 505(1)(c) and 505(2) of IPC," the Court said..However, the Court said that the prosecution could not prove that Biswas had committed any overt acts with an intention to wage war or attempt to wage or abet the waging of war against the Government of India. Thus, the court acquitted Biswas of the offence under Section 121 of IPC..Notably, the court did not pronounce any judgment with respect to the charge of sedition against Biswas in view of the Supreme Court order that the provision be kept in abeyance."This court has not pronounced the judgment in respect of the offence punishable under section 124A of IPC and the same is kept in abeyance in view of the directions issued by the Hon’ble Apex Court in S.G. Vombatkere Versus Union of India, Writ Petition (C) No.682/2021, decided on 11.05.2022," it said..Biswas was sentenced to undergo simple imprisonment for ten years and pay a fine of ₹50,000 for committing various offences under the UAPA. He was sentenced to three years in jail for various offences under the IPC. All the jail terms are to run concurrently (at the same time), the Court clarified..Special Public Prosecutor Shankar T Bikkannavar represented the State. Advocate SB appeared for Biswas. Before parting with the case, the court also recorded its appreciation for Investigating Officer Thammaiah MK for his pains to collect evidence and bring the accused "to the law book" and for his punctuality in attending the court. .[Read Judgment]