Ban on Mirwaiz-led AAC, Ansari’s JKIM upheld; Hurriyat chief calls move unjust

Two Delhi High Court tribunals have upheld the Centre’s decision to ban the Awami Action Committee (AAC), led by Kashmir’s chief cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, and the Jammu and Kashmir Ittihadul Muslimeen (JKIM), headed by Shia leader Masroor Abbas Ansari.

Both tribunals, presided over by Justice Sachin Datta, ruled that the material and evidence submitted provided ample justification to declare the two groups as unlawful associations under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967.

“This Tribunal, having followed the procedure laid down in the UAPA and its Rules and having independently and objectively appreciated and evaluated the material and evidence on record, is of the firm and considered view that there is sufficient cause for declaring the organisation an unlawful association under Section 3(1) of the UAPA,” both orders stated.

The Union Home Ministry, while announcing the ban on March 11, said the AAC and JKIM were involved in unlawful activities that posed a threat to the sovereignty, integrity, and security of the country. According to the ministry, leaders and members of both organisations were involved in mobilising funds to support secessionist, separatist, and terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir.

In Srinagar, Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who heads the banned AAC, described the ban—and the tribunal’s decision to uphold it — as “unfortunate and unjust.”

“The tribunal process, we feel, was just a formality after the government had made up its mind to ban the organisation,” Mirwaiz told The Tribune.

He further stated, “We did not contest the ban in the tribunal, knowing the outcome.” However, the AAC did submit a written response to the tribunal, calling the ban “completely unjustifiable and motivated.”

In its response, the AAC said that the grounds for the ban — invoked under Section 3 of the UAPA —“appear to be five FIRs.” “In the first FIR, only one individual, who is purportedly the media advisor of the Awami Action Committee, is named as an accused,” the response said.

It argued that this does not justify banning the entire organisation, as individuals associated with a group often have personal, professional, or other involvements that are not necessarily representative of the organisation itself.

Regarding the other four FIRs, the AAC stated that they all relate to the delivery of speeches and shouting of slogans, which, it argued, “cannot be the basis for declaring an organisation unlawful.”

“Notably, these FIRs date from between 2008 and 2011, and in none of these cases have proceedings advanced beyond registration of FIRs,” the response added.

“The cases are so flimsy that even after more than 15 years, they have not reached the stage of chargesheet. What credence can be placed on them?” the AAC asked.

The AAC noted that it was founded in 1964 by Mirwaiz’s father, Maulvi Farooq, as a “socio-political organisation” to “give voice to the aspirations of his people.”