NIA moves Supreme Court against Madras High Court order granting bail to lawyer M Mohammed Abbas accused of PFI links

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has moved the Supreme Court against Tuesday's Madras High Court order that had granted bail to Madurai-based lawyer M Mohammed Abbas, alleged to be linked with the banned Popular Front of India (PFI)..On Wednesday, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for the NIA, mentioned the appeal and sought a stay on the bail order.A Bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela Trivedi clarified that they cannot provide a stay during the mentioning stage, more so without even reviewing the case files.However, the Bench indicated that it would hear the matter and listed it for hearing on August 5, subject to the orders of the Chief Justice of India..In the order under challenge, the Madras High Court had rejected the NIA's oral request seeking leave under Article 134 of the Constitution to challenge the bail order before the Supreme Court.The High Court had, however, dismissed the quashing petition filed by Abbas, where he had claimed that his arrest was a clear case of malafide as the NIA had found an easy victim in him..The plea by the advocate said that the central agency was particularly offended by a Facebook post and a complaint against one if its Superintendents of Police made by Abbas, and that the post and the complaint were the immediate triggers for his arrest.The High Court, however, said that the special court should decide on the issue of malafide at the time of trial.It also closed the habeas corpus petition filed by Abbas' family members following his arrest.The High Court had directed Abbas to execute a bond and furnish two sureties for a sum of ₹1 lakh. It also directed him to stay in Chennai, to cooperate with the probe agency and to keep his mobile phone "active and charged" at all times to ensure he was reachable always. .Abbas and fourt others were arrested by the NIA on May 9 in connection with the Tamil Nadu PFI criminal conspiracy case. They were booked under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) on charges of being members of the PFI.According to a press release by NIA, investigation revealed that the accused had conspired and planned to eliminate their 'perceived enemies' who were not aligned to the PFI ideology and were opposed to its plans to establish an Islamic State in India by 2047.The release further stated that in pursuance of the conspiracy, the accused had radicalized a large number of PFI cadres, especially youth handpicked by the outfit’s leadership, and had also trained them in the use of different kinds of weapons to assault, maim and kill their adversaries.