Tribunal Upholds Ban on Jama’at-e-Islami Jammu & Kashmir

PTK NEWS DESK

Srinagar, Aug 23: The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Tribunal on Friday confirmed the orders issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) declaring Jama’at-e-Islami Jammu & Kashmir (JeI) as an unlawful association under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

The MHA, in March this year, had issued a notification forming the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Tribunal, chaired by a Delhi High Court judge, to determine whether there was sufficient cause to designate JeI as an unlawful association.

The tribunal upheld the Central Government’s decision to extend the ban on JeI for an additional five years. The ruling also supported the government’s stance that the organization was involved in secessionist activities in the region, providing ongoing support to terrorist groups and their ideologies.

“Jama’at-e-Islami, Jammu and Kashmir (JeI) has been declared as an unlawful association, vide notification dated February 27, 2024, published in the Gazette of India,” the MHA stated. “Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 5 read with sub-section (1) of section 4 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (37 of 1967), the Central Government hereby constitutes the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Tribunal consisting of Justice Navin Chawla, Judge, High Court of Delhi, for the purpose of adjudicating whether or not there is sufficient cause for declaring the Jamaat-e-Islami, Jammu and Kashmir (JeI) as unlawful association.”

The organization was first banned on February 28, 2019, for five years, and this ban was subsequently extended on February 28, 2024, for another five-year period.

The decision to uphold the ban is seen as a significant move in the government’s ongoing efforts to curb secessionist activities in Jammu and Kashmir.