The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to cancel the bail of Ammar Abdul Rahiman, who was booked under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for allegedly sympathising with the banned terrorist organisation ISIS.
A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh upheld the Delhi High Court’s decision to grant bail to Rahiman, noting that he had not violated any bail conditions since his release.
The court observed that Rahiman was arrested on August 4, 2021, and had already spent nearly three years in custody as an undertrial. With the trial still ongoing, the bench remarked that no evidence was presented to show he had breached bail conditions or attempted to obstruct the proceedings.
“Prosecution proposes to examine more than 160 witnesses, out of whom 44 have been examined till now. Conclusion of the trial will take some reasonable time. Respondent was released on bail after spending about three years in custody as an undertrial,” the court noted.
The bench acknowledged Rahiman’s regular appearances before the trial court and his cooperation with the legal process. “We see no reason to cancel the bail granted to the respondent,” the bench said.
Appearing for the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati acknowledged that Rahiman, though young, was largely accused of sympathising with ISIS and had not played any major operational role. Bhati also confirmed that the accused had cooperated during the investigation and consistently appeared before the trial court.
However, the NIA opposed Rahiman’s plea to apply for a passport or travel abroad while the trial was still pending. Agreeing with the objection, the Supreme Court ruled that Rahiman cannot travel outside India during the trial without prior court approval.
The Delhi High Court had earlier, on May 6 last year, granted bail after noting that the evidence did not indicate that the accused had committed offences under Section 38 (membership of a terrorist organisation) or Section 39 (support given to a terrorist organisation) of the UAPA.
According to the NIA, Rahiman was allegedly radicalised and conspired with known and unknown ISIS operatives to undertake “Hijrah” (religious migration) to Jammu and Kashmir and other ISIS-controlled regions, with the intention of joining the group to further its goal of establishing a Caliphate in India.
