Lawyer arrested by anti-terrorism squad for alleged links with banned PFI gets bail

On Friday, the Bombay High Court approved bail for advocate Shaikh Sadique Isaq Qureshi, who was detained by the Anti-Terrorism Squad on accusations of being affiliated with the prohibited Popular Front of India (PFI). The court discovered no evidence indicating that he knew of or acted to achieve the goals of a document taken during the inquiry.

Qureshi faced charges under Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 121-A (waging war against the nation), and 153-A (inciting hostility among various groups) of the Indian Penal Code, in addition to Section 13(1)(b) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. The prosecution claimed that he and others coordinated events in Mumbai to subdue the majority community, implement governance according to their faith, and swap the Constitution for personal law. The authorities additionally asserted that he highlighted deficiencies in legal regulations and enlisted at-risk youth for PFI, which was prohibited in 2022. Contributions were reportedly gathered from community members for this objective.

Lawyers Mihir Desai and Hasnain Qazi, who are representing Qureshi, contended that he was detained on 22 September 2022, and that charges are still pending. With over 255 witnesses mentioned in the indictment, they argued that the trial was improbable to finish in a reasonable period. They also pointed out that PFI was prohibited on 27 September 2022, five days following Qureshi’s arrest, thereby making it unfeasible for him to have engaged in an offense under UAPA concerning its actions after the ban.

Additional Public Prosecutor JP Yagnik rejected the bail application, stating that the inquiry revealed a document detailing PFI’s aims, named ‘India 2047, Towards Rule of Islam in India.’ The prosecution asserted that each accused was striving for this objective.

The panel of Justices Sarang Kotwal and S. M. Modak recognized the gravity of the document’s contents but observed that there was no proof connecting Qureshi to it. The court saw no evidence that he knew of or participated in attempts to reach those goals. Content discovered on Qureshi’s phone featured videos of individuals practicing martial arts and a address by PFI Secretary Anis Ahemad, where he condemned legal regulations.

The court concluded that “there is nothing to show that the appellant had the requisite knowledge. At the highest, the material against him shows that he was in touch with the other members of PFI who were aware of the road-map. But the statements of the witnesses nowhere suggest that the appellant had carried on any activity which was in furtherance of the objectives of the road-map document.”

When Yagnik pointed out that Qureshi had four other cases against him, the court noted that he had been acquitted in two, while the other two were from a different decade and had no connection to the current case.