Special NIA Court grants bail to Abdullah Saud Ansari booked under UAPA for alleged PFI membership

A Lucknow court recently granted bail to one Abdullahah Saud Ansari booked under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) on the ground that he was allegedly a member of the banned organisation, Popular Front of India (PFI) [Abdullahah Saud Ansari v State]..Special Judge, NIA Vivekanand Sharan Tripathi of the District and Sessions Court, Lucknow noted that there were sufficient grounds to release Ansari on bail who was arrested in one of the raids conducted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).“It is clear from the perusal of the prosecution papers that in the present case, the petitioner has been accused of being a member of the banned organization PFI and he was found in possession of material and video clips related to the PPFI, however, it is the statement of the accused that no objectionable material has been recovered from him. He has been arrested by the investigating officer after calling him to the police station on the pretext of questioning and the sections imposed on him are punishable with imprisonment of less than seven years,” the Court said in its order..In the present case, Ansari was in jail since September 30, 2022 on the allegation of being an active member of PFI, an organisation banned by the Central government.Ansari was booked under Sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups) and 153B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national-integration) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and under various provisions of UAPA..The counsel for the applicant contended that the prosecution falsely implicated him and there was no past criminal history. The counsel also argued that the applicant went to the concerned police station to cooperate with the investigating officer however, he was illegally detained and taken to judicial remand without giving any information to his family which is a direct violation of Section 41A of the Criminal Procedure Code..It was also argued that the police had put a lot of pressure on the applicant and made him sign several plain papers. However, the investigating officer found no evidence to prove the connection of the accused to the banned organisation. Neither, his mobile nor other documents on record revealed any suspicious anti-national activities, the counsel added.The Court thus, granted bail to Ansari subject to furnishing a bail bond of ₹50,000 and two sureties of the like amount..[Read Order]