Even as Kerala revenue officials aided by local police began confiscating properties belonging to PFI (Popular Front of India) terrorists, multiple radical Islamist organizations came forward to claim victimization. Their protests came amidst allegations that the Kerala government is fooling the public under the guise of impounding properties.

The Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) protested as the confiscation of the belongings of PFI terrorists was in progress. SDPI is the political wing of the PFI and is not banned. Party state president Muvattupuzha Ashraf Moulavi said that the government is taking discriminatory action to appease the court. Moulavi also accused the court of trying to make it appear that they showed enthusiasm in levying damages.  

Solidarity Youth Movement, the youth wing of Jamaat-e-Islami, has come out against the High Court, which ordered impounding properties of PFI terrorists in the case of violence under the guise of hartal. A press release issued by Solidarity said that the excessive interest shown by the High Court in ordering compensation from the defendants is ‘discriminatory.’

Earlier, the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation informed the court of estimated losses of rupees 5.20 crores from PFI violence unleashed on that hartal day in September. The High Court then ordered recovery of the said amount from those arrested for the violence. Solidarity alleged that it is unfair to confiscate the amount since KSRTC has not yet submitted the details of the losses suffered.

Solidarity claimed that it is reasonable to suspect the court’s ‘interests’ behind the hasty implementation of measures in this regard which have not been taken in similar cases. It is not fair to attach properties when neither the court-appointed Claims Commissioner nor the Kerala government has submitted the details of the loss of 5.20 cr demanded by KSRTC.

Many hartals of political parties have also taken place in Kerala, and most have turned violent. Unusually, the courts did not show any urgency in taking action against those responsible for earlier hartals, which have caused losses worth crores of rupees, Solidarity added. Some arrested in connection with the hartal were released on bail with the stipulated amount. 

Media failed to report the details of those who were thus released. It has long been doubted that many PFI cadre are also associated with other political groups, and those claiming victimization now are all the same.

The court had severely criticized the government for delaying the confiscation proceedings. The court granted time till 5 pm on Saturday for revenue recovery of the properties of the terrorists who had unleashed violence under the guise of hartal. This was when the government ordered a few revenue department officials to discharge a farce in the name of revenue recovery.

Though they are ‘attaching’ properties, the residents can allegedly continue living there! They have been given time to vacate their houses. This is a process by which the government takes over the properties by providing a notice under section 36 of the Revenue Recovery Act.

Before a recovery occurs, a demand letter must be sent to the owner per sections 7 and 34. However, the Kerala High Court found that officials were not required to give this notification in this instance. This means green communists are helping these terrorists by delaying actual confiscation proceedings. Legal experts are unsure whether the court has asked revenue officials to invoke section 36.

For the first time in the history of Kerala, Revenue Department officials were forced to impound properties belonging to terrorists. This is also the first time that the state has confiscated property as a follow-up to a hartal. The state has not registered a single case against these terror supporters who criticize court orders against PFI extremists. 

The properties of 234 terrorists have been confiscated in 14 districts. The house and land of Abdul Sattar, who was the PFI State General Secretary, were seized at Karunagappally in the Kollam district. State Secretary CA Rauf’s Pattambi residence was also confiscated. Sixty-eight cents belonging to PFI’s Aluva-based Periyar Valley Trust campus and associated facilities were impounded.