An Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Tribunal in August upheld the Centre’s decision to declare Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir (JeI-J&K) as an ‘Unlawful Association’.
The tribunal observed, “It can safely be concluded that the Central Government had sufficient cause to form an opinion that JeI-J&K is liable to be declared as an Unlawful Association.”
The Centre on February 27 declared JeI-J&K as an “Unlawful Association” and on March 13 it constituted the tribunal “for… adjudicating whether or not there is sufficient cause for declaring JeI-J&K as an Unlawful Association.”
A gazette notification issued on October 9 by the Ministry of Home Affairs published the August 23 order of the Tribunal comprising Justice Navin Chawla of the Delhi High Court.
While upholding the Centre’s decision, Justice Chawla referred to sections of the JeI-J&K constitution as well as eligibility conditions for membership of the association which state that members “should be conscious enough to be always ready to give up helping/ supporting the un-Islamic system of government and its implementation of un-Islamic laws.”
The Tribunal reasoned, “…the underlined emphasis appears to be a non-recognition of the Government which does not follow the Islamic principles, and of Court of laws which are not based on Islamic Laws. While it is true that Article 25 of the Constitution of India grants freedom to all persons to profess, practice and propagate religion, the same is subject to public order, morality and health and other provisions of the Constitution.”
Highlighting the material placed before the Tribunal, including the fact that there are 40 FIRs against the association, Justice Chawla said, “The material placed on record shows that the members of the Association are actively supporting subversive activities, HuM (Harkat-ul-Mujahideen), terrorist groups from across the border, and religious division.”
“From the Constitution of JeI-J&K, the allegations made in the FIRs produced before this Tribunal, the deposition of the witnesses, and other material placed by the Central Government, it is evident that the Central Government had sufficient material to form an opinion that JeI-J&K deserves to be declared as Unlawful Association,” the Tribunal concluded.
The Centre claimed before the Tribunal that even after the declaration of JeI-J&K as unlawful association in 2019, “it continues to be a significant threat to the integrity and security of the Union of India; its ideology and activities are aimed at disrupting the unity and integrity of India and promoting separatism; its activist/members are covertly supporting HuM, a banned terrorist organization, and other terrorist organizations operating in Jammu and Kashmir; and are known to propagate radical ideology and support groups engaged in activities that incite violence, disturb public order, and challenge the sovereignty of India.”