Bombay High Court denies bail to 3 men accused of plot to convert India into Islamic State

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday refused to grant bail to three men accused of being part of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI), observing that there was evidence to indicate that they acted to give effect to an alleged plot to convert India into an Islamic State by the year 2047 [Razi Ahmed Khan vs State of Maharashtra]..A Bench of Justices Ajay Gadkari and Shyam Chandak noted that there was evidence to show that the three accused had entered into a widespread conspiracy to give effect to a document referred to as "Vision-2047.""Perusal of the Vision-2047 document indicates that it is a sinister plot and design to transform India into an Islamic state by adopting all possible methods mentioned in the document. It is a conspiracy to commit horrendous acts perpetrated by the Appellants pursuant to their conspiracy, amounts to conspire to overawe or to attempt to wage war against the Government of India," the Court's order said. The High Court, therefore, upheld three orders passed by the Special Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) Court, denying bail to the three accused men. .It has been alleged that the three accused men were part of a secret meeting held in 2022 after an opening ceremony to launch a new PFI office in Malegaon. During this meeting, various atrocities against the Muslim community and the need for Muslim unity to wage war against the country were allegedly among the topics discussed. The prime accused in the case, who was also the head of PFI's Malegaon unit, is said to have instigated others to motivate Muslims with similar thinking, enhance communication with like-minded persons and create an atmosphere against the government of India. The prime accused also issued a "fatwa" instructing followers to kill people who would speak against Islam, the Court was told. As per the prosecution, the idea was to attract youngsters with an extremist ideology from the Muslim community, brainwash them to wipe out their identity as Indians and make them radical Muslims to impose Sharia in India in due course of time.The three men were among several persons arrested for allegedly having attended several such meetings. These persons were arrested in connection with a first information report (FIR) registered in September 2022. The same month, the PFI was also banned by the Indian government for a period of five years. .On June 11, the Court found that the evidence on record was more than sufficient to corroborate the allegations against the three accused."The evidence on record discloses that the appellants have participated in promoting hatred against the State, spreading anti-national agenda through various means of propaganda including use of electronic media by creating WhatsApp groups and circulating messages detrimental to the interest of the nation. It is also revealed that the accused circulated a document called as Vision-2047, which is basically propounded by the PFI ... After considering the entire material on record, we are of the opinion that a strong primary facie case is made out to indict appellants in the present case. If they are released on bail, there is every possibility that they may tamper with the evidence at this crucial stage," the Court said. The Court proceeded to dismiss the bail applications filed by the three accused men. .Senior Advocates Ashok Mundargi and Mihir Desai along with advocates Pravada Raut, Hasnain Kazi, Shraddha Vavhal, Saipan Shaikh, Hafizuddin Kazi, Zeeshan Khan, Athar Qureshi and Raeed Kazi appeared for the bail applicants (accused). Additional Public Prosecutor Ashwini Takalkar represented the State. .[Read Judgment]