Supreme Court denies bail to Sikhs for Justice 'member' in UAPA case

PTI

New Delhi, February 8

The Supreme Court has refused bail to an alleged Khalistani separatist, who is purported to be a member of the banned outfit 'Sikhs for Justice', saying materials on record prima facie indicated his complicity in preparation for a terrorist act.

A bench of Justices MM Sundresh and Aravind Kumar refused to interfere with the Punjab and Haryana High Court's order refusing bail to Gurwinder Singh alias Gurpreet Singh Gopi in the UAPA case probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

"We are of the considered view that the material on record prima facie indicates the complicity of the accused as a part of the conspiracy since he was knowingly facilitating the commission of a preparatory act towards the commission of terrorist act under section 18 of the UAP Act," the bench said, while dismissing Gurwinder Singh's appeal against the high court order.

On July 10, 2019, pro-Khalistan group 'Sikhs for Justice' (SFJ), founded by Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, was banned by the Centre for its alleged anti-national activities under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. A year later, on July 1, 2020, the Centre designated Pannun as a terrorist under the provisions of the UAPA.

Gurwinder Singh, along with several others including Pannun, was booked by the NIA in 2020 for various offences under the IPC, the Arms Act and the UAPA.

His involvement in the case came to the fore based on the disclosure statement made by co-accused Bikramjit Singh alias Vicky, who was arrested by the Punjab Police when they busted a module of SFJ. Total nine members including Singh were arrested.

The Punjab Police had busted the SFJ module during the investigation of a case in which two persons were arrested on October 19, 2018 for hanging banners on a flyover at Amritsar on which "Khalistan Zindabad" and "Khalistan Referendum 2020" was written.

In April 2020, the probe into the case was transferred to the NIA keeping in view the severity of charges involved in the matter.

In its order, the apex court noted that in the disclosure statement, it was revealed that on July 8, 2018, Gurwinder Singh accompanied Bikramjit Singh and another co-accused Harpreet Singh to Srinagar in a car where they had planned to purchase a pistol for taking revenge for a sacrilege incident. 

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