NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday refused to grant bail on medical grounds to former chairman of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) E Abubacker in a case registered against him under anti-terror law UAPA.Abubacker, who was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) during a massive crackdown on the organisation in 2022, had approached the high court after the trial court rejected his bail application.A bench of Justices MM Sundresh and Rajesh Bindal said it was not inclined to release Abubacker at this stage after looking at the medical report.In his plea, Abubacker who is in his 70s, and suffers from Parkinson’s disease, stated that he is entitled to bail as the NIA has “miserably” failed to put together a case against him. He also pointed out that he has undergone a surgery for the treatment of cancer.According to the central anti-terror agency, the PFI, its office bearers and members hatched a criminal conspiracy to raise funds for committing acts of terror in various parts of the country and were organising camps to indoctrinate and train their cadre for this purpose.Abubacker was arrested on September 22, 2022.The arrests were made in Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Delhi and Rajasthan.The BJP-led Central government banned the PFI and several of its associate organisations on September 28, 2022 for five years under the stringent anti-terror law, accusing them of having links with global terror groups like the ISIS.The Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), which works with the PFI and is considered its political face, accused the government of cracking down on dissent and alleged that the ban was part of an “undeclared emergency.””The regime is misusing the investigation agencies and laws to silence the opposition and to scare the people from expressing the voice of dissent. An undeclared emergency is clearly visible in the country,” the group said. (With inputs from Online Desk)
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