High Court seeks NIA’s stand on PFI leader’s bail plea

New Delhi, July 4

The Delhi High Court has sought the National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) response to a plea for interim bail filed by OMA Salam, a leader of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) on Thursday.

The counsel for the petitioner sought two weeks’ interim bail on the grounds that Salam’s daughter died in April and his wife was in a “depressive state”.

Salam was arrested under the anti-terror law, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), appealed against a trial court’s order denying him interim bail. A Bench of Justice Prathiba M Singh and Justice Amit Sharma gave the NIA two weeks to respond and scheduled the hearing for July 25.

The NIA had alleged that the PFI, its office-bearers and members conspired to raise funds for terror activities and conducted training camps for indoctrination and training. In 2022, a large number of PFI activists were detained or arrested across 11 states during a multi-agency operation led by the NIA.