Speciol NIA Court in Delhi Frames Charges Against 20 PFI Members Over Plot to Overthrow Government by 2047

New Delhi [India], July 11 (ANI): A Special NIA Court at the Patiala House Court Complex on Saturday formally framed charges against 20 members of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI), including its founding chairman, Erappungal Abubacker, as well as the organisation itself, in a terror case.

The court has listed the case for trial.
On June 5, the NIA court directed to frame charges against the proscribed PFI and its 20 office bearers, including founding chairman E Abubakar and chairman OMA Salam, for the offences of criminal conspiracy, waging war against the country, and offences including raising funds for a terror organisation, conspiracy for terror activities, organising terror camps and recruitment for terror activities under UAPA.
These accused were arrested in September 2022 in a nationwide crackdown on the PFI.

Special NIA judge Prashant Sharma formally framed charges against 20 Accused persons and the PFI. The accused denied the charges and claimed trial.
The Court has listed the matter for trial and NIA will lead evidence from July 29 onwards.
Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Rahul Tyagi, along with Assistant Public Prosecutors Jatin Khatri and Amit Rohilla, appeared for the NIA.
On the other hand, senior advocates S Balan, A Nowfal and Saipan Dastgir appeared for the accused persons.

These PFI leaders were arrested in September 2022 in a nationwide crackdown by the NIA. The action was taken after the Central Government declared PFI an unlawful organisation.
"Considered as a whole, the material on record raises grave suspicion that the accused, acting through and on behalf of the Popular Front of India and its National Executive Council (NEC), agreed and acted in furtherance of a single conspiracy to overthrow the secular democratic Government of India and to establish an Islamic Caliphate under Sharia law in India by or before the year 2047 through an armed struggle against the State," the court said on June 5.
The NIA had registered an FIR on April 13, 2022 at New Delhi, for the offences punishable under sections 120-B and 153-A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and under sections 17, 18, 18-B, 20, 22-B, 38 and 39 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, in compliance with the order of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, directing the National Investigation Agency to take up the investigation.

The investigation agency had arrested several top leaders of the PFI. After completion of the investigation, the chargesheet and supplementary chargesheets were filed.
It is alleged that the PFI and leaders were planning to overthrow the government. It's also alleged that the accused persons were radicalising the youth and promoting enmity between communities, and senior RSS leaders were on the hit list.

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