Kerala HC: Accused in UAPA case Allan Shuhaib has right to attend examination

The Kerala High Court on Monday said that Allan Shuhaib, who was arrested in November 2019 under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), has the right to attend the examination for the course he has been pursuing. The court directed Kannur University to reply within 48 hours on the completion of the procedure. Shuhaib and Fasal were taken into custody by police from Pantheerankavu in Kozhikode on November 1.

The court's order

The court said that Allan should be allowed to write the second semester LLB exam on February 18 and added that if the University informs them that he can attend the examination, the NIA should be prepared to arrange for it. Allan was arrested along with another accused Thaha Fasal under the UAPA in Kozhikode last November. The NIA, which took over the case, has filed a custody appeal in the special NIA court in Kochi seeking further interrogation of the accused.

A special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court on Friday extended the remand of Thalassery-based students Allan Shuhaib and Thaha Fasal till March 13. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on February 6 wrote to Home Minister Amit Shah, urging him to transfer the case of the two students, who were arrested for alleged links with Maoists, from the NIA to state police.

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"We are not Maoists. We are CPI-M activists. The Chief Minister who says we are Maoists should bring proof as to who we killed and where did we place bombs. In the last election, we have served as CPI-M booth agents. We are the ones who went out to vote and pasted posters for CPI-M,'' they had earlier said in court.

The duo was charged under Sections 20 (punishment for being a member of terrorist gang or organisation), 38 (offence relating to membership of a terrorist organisation) and 39 (offence relating to support given to a terrorist organisation) of the UAPA.

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About their arrest

The Kerala High Court on November 27 rejected the bail application of two Communist Party of India - Marxist workers who were charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The court upheld the government's argument of not granting the bail. CPI (M) workers Alan Suhaib and Taha Fazal were detained in Kozhikode district of Kerala on November 1 and were later charged under UAPA. The two CPI (M) activists were arrested for allegedly distributing pro-Maoists pamphlets condemning the killing of four Maoists in Palakkad district.

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Who are the two accused?

19-year old Allan Shuhaib is a journalism student who is also an executive member of the CPM's Meenchanda Bypass committee. He is the nephew of well-known Malayali actor Sajitha Madathil. He is the former area committee member of the Students' Federation of India (SFI) which is a student organisation associated with the Communist Party of India. 24-year old Thaha Fazal is a law student at Kannur University is a branch committee member of Parammal in Kozhikode. 

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(with ANI inputs)