A Delhi court has granted bail to eight persons who were arrested during investigation into the case related to ban on the Popular Front of India (PFI), officials said.

The Central government on September 28 this year banned the PFI and its associates as well as affiliates for a period of five years.

The eight individuals were arrested after the PFI was banned. An FIR was registered on September 29 on the basis of apprehension of certain acts done by the PFI members.

Additional Sessions Judge Sanjay Khanagwal on Monday said that according to records, the accused persons were already in preventive custody when the ban on the PFI came into effect.

He said the accused were released in October first week from Tihar jail but were soon arrested after their release.

“The investigating officer has not been able to show sufficient incriminating material against the accused persons collected during the investigation that as to when accused persons were in custody from September 27 and remained in Tihar Jail till October 4 or October 3, then how the accused persons have carried out such an activities which are aimed at advocating, abetting or inciting/assisting any unlawful activity of unlawful organisation,” the court order stated.

However, the investigating officer told that the court that the probe is going on to establish the link of the accused with the funding and the bank details of PFI have been recovered.

The court then observed that “the material collected during the investigation is silent as to the role of accused persons in financial activities or in advocating the activities of unlawful organisation after its ban being it members”.

“There is no allegation of involvement of accused persons in any terrorist activities, and that offences alleged against the accused persons is not punishable for more than seven years,” the court said.

The lawyer, Mujeeb Ur Rehman, representing the accused, had even argued before the court that they were unlawfully picked up and detained by the police.

“It is further submitted that they were in fact picked up from the jail itself and were not apprehended from the place as alleged against them,” the court noted in its order.

All the eight accused were arrested for allegedly raising the slogan “PFI Zindabad”.

Mohammad Shoaib, Abdul Rab, Habeeb Asghar Jamali and Mohammad Waris Khan were arrested on October 3 after information was received that some people were raising slogans of “PFI Zindabad”, police had said.

Police also claimed that they had also recovered six flags of PFI from them.

Also, Abdullah, Sheikh Gulfam Hussain, Mohammad Shoeb and Mohsin Waqar were arrested on October 5, police had said, adding that some PFI flags along with pamphlets reading “PFI Zindabad” were recovered from their possession.

(The article has been published via a syndicated feed)