New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday asked former Popular Front of India (PFI) chief and founding president of Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) Erappungal Abubacker to approach the trial court first for bail.

Abubacker’s petition seeking bail refused

The Bench of Justice Anoop Kumar Mendiratta on Thursday refused to entertain Abubacker’s petition seeking bail on medical grounds and said that in an Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) case, remedy for bail lies first before the trial court and then the appeal comes before the Division Bench of the High Court.

Justice Mendiratta also said that this court does not have the jurisdiction to deal with the matter and therefore no interim orders can be passed.

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Abubacker suffering from rare medical conditions

After the court’s refusal, the counsel appearing for Abubacker E. decided to withdraw the petition. Abubacker E through his son Amal Thahseen stated that he was a 70-year-old person suffering from numerous serious and rare medical ailments.

Abubacker was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on September 22 following countrywide raids and charged with sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). He, along with others, has been in judicial custody since October 6, the plea stated.

The plea stated that the petitioner was admitted to the hospital on various days during police custody and the trial court rejected the specific requests for the family members to meet the petitioner owing to which the details regarding his medical condition and treatment during detention is also unknown.

NIA opposes petition on maintainability ground

Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Akshai Malik, who appeared for the National Investigation Agency (NIA), opposed the petition on the maintainability ground. He submitted that under the NIA Act and the UAPA, the applicant should have moved to the trial court first and then come in for appeal.

The plea also stated that the NIA has not demanded further police custody of the petitioner which establishes that no further information or material is sought to be recovered from him and no purpose exists for prolonging his continuous detention in custody, especially during his deteriorating health condition.

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Petition denies any role in alleged crime

The petitioner has no role or involvement in the alleged crime as he has been under extensive medical treatments, such as biopsy, laparoscopy, chemotherapy cycles etc. since 2019, thus, under no stretch of the imagination can such serious allegations being levelled against him, in the absence of any definitive material or specific allegation, the petition said.

It also stated that the present crime involves numerous FIRs and complaints across India, wherein over 200 arrests have been made to date.

“Hence, there exists no definitive period as to the completion of the investigation and, thus, under critical medical conditions, the petitioner cannot be compelled to languish in custody, which would ultimately prove to be fatal for his life and well-being,” the petition said.

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