Bail has been granted to one Abdullahah Saud Ansari who was booked under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) on the pretext of been a member of the banned organisation, Popular Front of India by a Lucknow court.
Special Judge, NIA Vivekanand Sharan Tripathi of the District and Sessions Court, said that there have been sufficient grounds for the release Ansari on bail who was arrested in one of the raids conducted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
The court order said that after going through the perusal of the prosecution papers in the present case, the petitioner has been accused of being a member of the banned organization PFI and he was found in possession of material and video clips related to the PFI, however, it is the statement of the accused that no objectionable material has been recovered from him.
The order added that the accused has been arrested by the investigating officer after calling him to the police station on the pretext of questioning and the sections imposed on him are punishable with imprisonment of less than seven years.
Ansari has been in jail since September 30, 2022 on the allegation of being an active member of PFI, an organisation banned by the Central government.
Currently Ansari was booked under Sections 153A (promoting enmity between different groups) and 153B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national-integration) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and under various provisions of UAPA.
As per the counsel of the applicant it was contended that the prosecution had falsely implicated him and there was no past criminal history.
The counsel added that the applicant went to the concerned police station to cooperate with the investigating officer,but was illegally detained and taken to judicial remand without giving any information to his family which is a direct violation of Section 41A of the Criminal Procedure Code.
The counsel also said that police had put a lot of pressure on the applicant for making him sign several plain papers.
The investigating officer however have found no evidence to prove the connection of the accused to the banned organisation.
As per the investigation neither, the applicants mobile nor any other documents on record revealed any suspicious anti-national activities, the counsel added.
The Court thus, granted bail to Ansari subject to furnishing a bail bond of ₹50,000 and two sureties of the like amount.