Terror Case: Delhi High Court Issues Notice To NIA In An Appeal Of PFI Leader

Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court on Friday issued a notice to the National Investigation Agency in response to an appeal filed by Afsar Pasha, a national secretary of the Popular Front of India and an accused in a terrorism-related case.

His prior bail application had been denied by the special NIA Court in November 2024.

A division bench comprising Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Rajneesh Kumar Gupta instructed the NIA to provide a formal response within three weeks. Furthermore, the court allocated an additional two-week period for the appellant’s legal counsel to submit a rejoinder.

Special public prosecutor Rahul Tyagi, representing the NIA, acknowledged receipt of the notice, and the case has been scheduled for a subsequent hearing on May 6, 2025.

Pasha’s appeal, advanced through legal counsel Saipan Dastgir Shaikh, challenges the lower court’s order issued on November 30, 2024.

The NIA had initially registered a case against PFI office bearers and affiliates in November 2022 under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967, at the NIA Police Station in New Delhi.

The crux of the case revolves around an alleged conspiracy involving the illicit accumulation of financial resources, both domestically and internationally, for the facilitation of terrorist activities across India.

The investigation led the NIA to conduct extensive searches at 39 locations across ten states, including official PFI offices. The operation resulted in the seizure of 432 digital devices and incriminating documents, which were subsequently subjected to forensic examination.

On September 22, 2022, authorities arrested 19 individuals linked to the case, including OMA Salam (alias O.M. Abdul Salam), E.M. Abdul Rahiman (alias E.M.), Anis Ahmed, Afsar Pasha, V.P. Nazarudheen Elamaram (alias Nazaruddin Elamaram), E. Abubakar, Prof. P. Koya (alias Kaleem Koya), M. Mohammed Ali Jinnah, Abdul Wahid Sait, A.S. Ismail (alias Appamma Ismail), Advocate Mohammed Yousuf, Mohammed Basheer, Shafeer K.P., Jaseer K.P., Shahid Nasir, Waseem Ahmad, Mohammed Shakif, Mohammed Farooq Rehaman (alias Muhammed Farooq Ur Rahman), and Yasir Hasan (alias Yasir Arafat Hasan, alias Yasin).

Investigative findings indicate that social media data extraction from the accused individuals’ online accounts revealed their engagement in unlawful activities. Additionally, financial records substantiate allegations of monetary transactions between PFI leaders and individuals implicated in unlawful undertakings.

Notably, accused individual Ansad Badrudeen—named in a separate case registered at PS ATS Gomti Nagar, Lucknow—was found to have received payments from PFI leadership.

Further scrutiny of banking transactions revealed periodic disbursements to entities engaged in paramilitary-style training, some of whom were reportedly recruited into PFI’s operational units. These specialized groups were purportedly tasked with ensuring the security of senior PFI officials while simultaneously identifying and targeting members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for potential attacks.

According to the NIA, sworn testimonies from eight protected witnesses, recorded under Sections 161 and 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), affirm that the ultimate objective of PFI was the establishment of Islamic rule in India by 2047 through orchestrated acts of violence, operating under the ideological framework of Gazwa-e-Hind.