‘Best morning to send a message’: SC refuses bail to man linked to ISIS

A day after a blast near Red Fort here killed at least 12 persons, the Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the bail plea of a man accused under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for his alleged association with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), a banned outfit.

“Best morning to send a message,” a Bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta said and dismissed the bail plea of accused Syed Mamoor Ali, pointing out that inflammatory material was recovered from the accused.

The top court’s comments came after senior counsel Siddharth Dave, at the very outset said, “Not the best morning to argue this case after the events of yesterday.”

Ali had challenged the Madhya Pradesh High Court’s order passed in January denying him bail in a case lodged for alleged offences under various provisions of the UAPA and the IPC. He was arrested in May 2023 in the case probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

The Bench, however, directed the trial court to conclude the case trial in two years.

During the hearing, the Bench noted that the accused allegedly tried to create a “ring of terror” in the country. It was alleged that the accused had formed a WhatsApp group identical to that of ISIS. “What was the intention behind that?” it asked.

“Forget the witnesses for the moment, how do you explain the recoveries?” it sought to know.

“There is no recovery except Islamic literature,” Dave replied.

Noting that charges have been framed against the accused and there was a prima facie case against him, the Bench said, “You are accused of trying to create a ring of terror in the country. Sorry!” it said, adding that he was trying to create turbulence in India.

Dave argued that no explosive had been recovered and that the petitioner — who is 70 per cent differently abled — has been in custody for two and a half years. However, the Bench refused to entertain the bail plea.

“In case the trial is not concluded within the aforesaid period for no fault attributable to the petitioner, it would be open for the petitioner to revive his prayer for bail,” it said.

The high court had said the NIA took up the investigation, in which it was revealed that during the countrywide lockdown in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the accused started gaining knowledge about the comparison of religions through videos of controversial Islamic preacher Zakir Naik.

According to the chargesheet, the accused was associated with ISIS along with others and was in possession of several incriminating documents and pamphlets containing a flag similar to that of the terror organisation, the high court had noted.

The accused, along with others, had conspired to attack an ordnance factory in Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur in order to procure a large quantity of weapons for the furtherance of the ISIS’ activities, the NIA alleged.