The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a petition filed by a former member of the banned organisation Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), challenging the latest extension of five-year ban on the group.
On January 29, 2024, the Central government issued a notification to extend the five-year ban on SIMI, marking the ninth consecutive extension of the ban since 2001. The order was confirmed by the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Tribunal on August 7, 2024.
Humam Ahmad Siddiqui, a former member of SIMI, moved the Apex Court challenging the Tribunal order.
The Counsel appearing for the petitioner contended that since September 2001, SIMI had been continuously banned, even as important legal questions remained undecided in the pending matters before the Court.
He pointed out that there were 10 other connected matters. This was a continuing issue, from which an important question of law had risen. The lawyer urged the Apex Court to issue notice on the petition and tag it with connected matters.
The Bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta asked Siddiqui as to how the continuation of the ban impacted him individually. How could the petitioner, in his personal capacity, claim to be affected by a ban on an organisation that, according to him, no longer existed, it asked.
The Counsel replied that the government did not recognise SIMI’s dissolution and that he had already participated in the tribunal proceedings as a former member. The petitioner added that he had given up participating in the proceedings now.
The top court of the country dismissed the plea on the grounds that it had no locus standi.
The NDA government had banned SIMI in 2001, following the 9/11 attacks on the twin towers in the United States. The ban has since been extended for after regular intervals, te latest being its ninth extension.