The Delhi High Court on Friday declined to grant interim bail to Popular Front of India (PFI) leader OMA Salam, who was arrested under the anti-terror law UAPA in connection with a case against the banned organization and its members.
A division bench comprising Justices Prathiba M Singh and Amit Sharma dismissed Salam’s request for a two-week release, stating that no grounds were found to justify interim bail.
Salam, the chairman of the PFI, had sought interim bail for two weeks, citing the passing of his daughter in April and his wife’s current “depressive state.”
Salam was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) during a large-scale crackdown on the banned organization in 2022. The NIA has accused the PFI, along with its office bearers and members, of conspiring to raise funds to commit acts of terrorism across the country and conducting camps to indoctrinate and train their cadres for these purposes.
Before the nationwide ban, in nearly simultaneous raids across the country led by the NIA as part of a multi-agency operation, numerous PFI activists were detained or arrested in 11 states for allegedly supporting terror activities.
The arrests took place in various states and Union Territories, including Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Delhi, and Rajasthan.
The government banned the PFI and several of its affiliated organizations on September 28, 2022, for five years under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), citing their alleged links with global terror groups like ISIS.
