NEW DELHI, Oct 10:
A Delhi High Court tribunal has validated the ban imposed on Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), Jammu & Kashmir for its alleged involvement in activities which are prejudicial to internal security and public order, having the potential to disrupt the unity and integrity of the country.
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A few members of the group, which was banned for five more years in February, had contested the recently concluded assembly elections in J&K. This led to speculation that the ban imposed on Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), Jammu & Kashmir under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, (UAPA) 1967 might be withdrawn by the Government.
While declaring the group outlawed, the Home Ministry had listed 47 cases registered against it. They included an NIA case for collection of funds and encouragement to violent and secessionist activities.
The funds were also used by the active cadres and members of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, Lashkar-e-Taiba and other terrorist organisations through a well-established network of their cadres to organise violent protests, create public unrest and communal disharmony, thus instilling a sense of fear and insecurity in J&K and all over the country, the home ministry had said.
Another NIA case was registered against the members and cadres of the Jel, including Ameer Mohammed Shamsi, chief executive, Al-Huda Educational Trust (AHET) for receiving funds through AHET, Rajouri, in the name of Jel even after its ban in February, 2019.
AHET was formed by the top leadership of Jel, including accused Ameer Mohammed Shamsi. They were the trustees of AHET.
The Home Ministry also said the Jel is in close touch with militant outfits and is continuously supporting extremism and militancy in J&K and elsewhere.
According to the Home Ministry, the Jel J&K is supporting claims for secession of a part of the Indian territory from the Union and is supporting terrorist and separatist groups fighting for this purpose by indulging in activities and articulations intended to disrupt the territorial integrity of India. It is involved in anti-national and subversive activities in the country intended to cause disaffection, it added.
Asad Ullah Mir, one of the alleged members of the JeI J&K, appeared before the tribunal through his counsel and submitted that it is a socio-religious organisation with a written constitution. It is committed to peaceful constitutional means and does not have any links with militant outfits nor it supports extremism in any form, he claimed.
Mir also said the group was set up in 1953 to spread the word of Islam and in doing so it extends its Da’wah (invitation to Islam) to all people without discriminating on the basis of sect, language, colour, race, nation or country. The constitution of the association has never supported violence, the JeI member submitted.
He said the JeI has always participated in the democratic process. In 1969, it participated in the municipal and panchayat elections and had contested the Lok Sabha elections in 1971 securing more than 1 lakh votes, he added. (PTI)
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