HC to deliver verdict on maintainability of PFI’s petition challenging UAPA ban

The Delhi High Court is set to pronounce its judgment on Monday in the matter concerning the maintainability of a petition filed by the banned organisation Popular Front of India (PFI).

The petition challenges the decision of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) Tribunal, which had upheld the Central Government’s five-year ban on the organisation.

The Division Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyay and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela had earlier reserved its verdict after hearing detailed arguments from both sides.

The key question before the Bench is whether the High Court has jurisdiction to entertain PFI’s plea under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution, or if the challenge should be made directly before the Supreme Court under Article 136.

During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju, appearing for the Union Government, strongly opposed the maintainability of PFI’s petition.

He argued that the Tribunal’s order, being passed by a sitting HC judge, could not be reviewed by another bench of the same court.

“A sitting judge of the High Court has upheld the ban on the organisation. How, then, can a writ lie?” the ASG contended, asserting that any challenge to the Tribunal’s findings must be made before the Supreme Court.

The UAPA Tribunal, which was headed by a sitting High Court judge, had upheld the Centre’s decision to declare the PFI and its affiliated entities — including the Campus Front of India, Rehab India Foundation and National Women’s Front — as unlawful associations.

The Ministry of Home Affairs had submitted before the Tribunal that PFI and its associates were engaged in unlawful activities, producing extensive material evidence, including video footage and depositions from over 100 witnesses.

The government alleged that the organisation maintained links with proscribed outfits such as the ISIS and the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), and was involved in funding terrorism, targeted killings and efforts to disrupt public order.