The Madras High Court has refused to order the release of a UK citizen arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in a case concerning the alleged radicalisation and recruitment of people, including students, for furthering the ideology of Hizb Ut Tahrir (HUT), a banned organisation accused of seeking to establish a ‘Khilafa’ in India, as reported in The New Indian Express.
A division bench of Justices Anita Sumanth and Sunder Mohan dismissed an appeal filed by Aziz Ahamed, challenging the January 23 order of the Special Court for NIA Cases at Poonamallee, which had rejected his plea.
Ahamed, a UK citizen, was arrested in August 2024 following an FIR registered by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
The NIA subsequently arraigned him as the fifth accused in its supplementary chargesheets. He has been booked under relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the UAPA over allegations of engaging in radicalisation, recruiting students and receiving funds for terrorist activities.
During the hearing, counsel for Ahamed argued that the activities allegedly associated with HUT before the organisation was formally banned on 10 October 2024, might have been unlawful but could not be characterised as terrorist activities.
The High Court, however, rejected the contention, observing that the allegations and evidence on record were sufficient to attract provisions concerning the raising of funds for terrorist acts and conspiracy.
Referring to Sections 17 and 18 of the UAPA, the bench said it would suffice that the allegations and evidence on record relate to the acts covered under those provisions, “being the raising of funds for use in a terrorist act or conspiracy.”
The bench also took note of the nature of the allegations against Ahamed and the activities attributed to him.
“The activities allegedly engaged in by the appellant are essentially a call for mobilisation of armies to threaten the security, integrity and sovereignty of the country,” the bench stated in its recent order.
The High Court consequently dismissed Ahamed’s appeal against the Special Court’s order, declining to grant him relief in the UAPA case.
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