A Delhi High Court tribunal refuses to lift the ban on Jamaat-e-Islami, J&K
Subhashis Mittra
A Delhi High Court tribunal has put to rest speculation that the ban imposed on the Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI), Jammu & Kashmir under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967, might be lifted by the government. The speculation arose as members of the group, which was banned for five more years in February, had contested the recent assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir.
The tribunal validated the ban imposed on the JeI 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.
While proscribing the outfit, the ministry of home affairs (MHA) had listed 47 cases registered against it. These included an NIA case for collection of funds that were used by the active cadres and members of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, Lashkar-e-Taiba and other terrorist organisations through a well-established network 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. 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.
The MHA had noted that the Jel is in close touch with militant outfits and is continuously supporting extremism and militancy in J&K and elsewhere. It had said that the Jel J&K is encouraging secession of a part of the Indian territory from the Union by supporting terrorist and separatist groups. It is involved in anti-national and subversive activities in the country intended to cause disaffection, the MHA said.
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, committed to peaceful constitutional means and with no link with any militant outfit nor does it support extremism in any form. Mir 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, asserting that the JeI has always participated in the democratic process.
In 1969, it participated in the municipal and panchayat elections and contested the Lok Sabha elections in 1971 securing more than 1 lakh votes. In 1972, five members of the association were elected members of the J&K assembly. In 1977, one member of the association was elected to the assembly. In 1983, none got elected to the state legislative assembly, although from JeI, J&K had contested 20 constituencies. In 1987, two members of the JeI, J&K were elected to the assembly, even though the party contested 22 seats.
In the appeal to the high court tribunal, Mir said, “However, the elections of 1987 were rigged, resulting in the election of only two members from the association. That the 1987 elections were rigged is common knowledge and has been acknowledged even by former deputy prime minister and home minister, Mr L.K. Advani, in his autobiography, My Country My Life, and by several others. Most recently, Union home minister Amit Shah, while moving the amendment bill of the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation Act in the Lok Sabha also stated that farcical elections were conducted by the earlier Congress government in Kashmir.”
The JeI J&K said it was only after the ‘wholesale rigging of elections’ of 1987 that it decided not to contest elections until there was a guarantee of free and fair elections. ‘Although the association has always been opposed to violence, and although Ameer-e-Jama’at Hakeem Ghulam Nabi had expressly condemned violence at several public meetings when the state was in the grip of armed militancy, a misconception grew about the organisation that it supported militancy. This was entirely the creation of persons with vested interest against the association. It was because of this misconception that the association was declared unlawful in March 1990,’ the appeal said.
However, the tribunal, consisting of Justice Navin Chawla, concluded that it finds ample justification to declare JeI J&K as an unlawful association under Section 3(1) of the UAPA and the central government was justified in taking recourse to the provision of Section 3(3) of the UAPA vide notification dated February 27.
The outfit was first declared unlawful in 1975 after the imposition of Emergency. This was in line with the nation-wide ban on Jamaat-e-Islami-e-Hind in 1975-77. The ban was lifted in 1977, with the election of the new government at the Centre.