No immediate relief to ex-PFI Chairman, SC defers hearing on medical bail

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): In no immediate relief to the banned Popular Front of India's (PFI) former Chairman Erappungal Abubacker, the Supreme Court on Friday adjourned hearing on his plea seeking bail on humanitarian and medical grounds. A Bench headed by Justice M.M. Sundresh decided to fix the matter for hearing post December vacations after Additional Solicitor General (ASG), SV Raju, submitted that the medical report from AIIMS Delhi has not come.

It clarified that the pendency of Abubacker’s present proceedings before the apex court would not bar the High Court from determining his bail plea on medical grounds in the money laundering case lodged under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). In the previous hearing, the Bench, also comprising Justice Aravind Kumar, directed a panel of doctors in AIIMS Delhi to medically examine Abubacker. It had ordered that the former PFI chief be taken to AIIMS Delhi, where a panel of doctors would conduct his detailed examination as in-patient and it would consider the question of grant of bail on the basis of the medical report.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the National Investigation Agency (NIA), had said that Abubacker was not an ordinary criminal and there was evidence to indicate that he was tutoring several individuals for terrorist activities. SG Tushar Mehta added that he refused to give consent for treatment when he was taken to hospital in the past. In May this year, the Delhi High Court did not find any "compelling reason" to release him on the basis of his medical condition. "As per the report received from Medical Officer Incharge, Central Jail Dispensary, he was, though, referred to AIIMS Hospital for admission, but he did not choose to go there," said a Division Bench of Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Manoj Jain.

It added that allegations and averments appearing in the charge sheet coupled with the statements made by the witnesses, including the protected witnesses, leave no element of uncertainty about the fact that the case of the prosecution, under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), is prima facie true. Dismissing Abubacker’s plea, the Delhi HC said: "There is nothing before us which may suggest infringement of his fundamental rights. As regards, his medical complications, learned trial court has already given the requisite directions, which we also feel to be very appropriate." Abubacker was arrested by the NIA on September 22, 2022, and charged under the provisions of the UAPA.

He has been in judicial custody since October 6, 2022. He was active in organisations like the Ideal Students League, Jamaat-e-Islami, and the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). According to Abubacker, he is suffering from multiple ailments, including a rare type of oesophagus cancer, Parkinson's Disease, hypertension, diabetes, and loss of vision. The PFI, described as an extremist Islamic organisation spreading its ideologies, was banned by the Union government in September 2022 under the UAPA.