On Wednesday (13th December), the Madras High Court opined that the targeted killing of Hindu leaders cannot be termed an act of terrorism under section 15 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The court said this while granting bail to a man arrested under the act.
A division bench of Justices S S Sundar and Sunder Mohan said on Wednesday, “The evidence discloses that the conspiracy was to attack certain religious leaders. The authorities have not spelt out how that would amount to a terrorist act, as defined under section 15 of the UAPA.”
These comments were issued regarding the appeal for bail made by Asif Mustahin. Asif was taken into custody on 26th July 2022, under the UAPA by the National Investigation Agency for his alleged involvement in criminal activities.
The court added, “To bring an act under section 15 of the UAPA, the act must be done with an intent to threaten or likely to threaten the unity, integrity, security, economic security or sovereignty of India, or with an intent to strike terror or likely to strike terror in the people or any section of the people in India or any foreign country.”
The accused had filed bail applications which were rejected by the trial court, the high court, and the Supreme Court. He remained in custody for the last 17 months. As per the prosecution’s argument, the accused expressed a desire to join IS and established a connection with the second accused, affiliated with the global terror organization. Additionally, it was claimed that the duo conspired to kill Hindu religious leaders associated with the BJP and RSS.
Disagreeing with the prosecution, the bench asserted that the evidence did not suggest at any point that the accused had joined IS or that the second accused was a member of the terror group. The court said, “Even assuming that the materials collected by the prosecution might ultimately lead to a conviction, the detention pending trial could not be indefinite.”
The bench provided the accused with conditional bail, instructing him to reside in Erode and attend the trial court daily at 10:30 am until further notice.
