Kashmiri women's outfit Dukhtaran-E-Millat (DeM) has moved to Delhi High Court challenging its banned and declaring it a terrorist organization under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
DeM was declared a terrorist organization on December 30, 2004, by the government.
ASG Chetan Sharma raised the issue of the maintainability of the petition calling it delayed.
Justice Anoop Kumar Mendiratta listed the matter for further consideration on December 15, 2022. The bench directed the center to file brief submission within four weeks with an advance copy to the learned counsel for the petitioner.
The outfit has sought quashing of the said notification through which it was declared unlawful under section 3 of UAPA and declared a terrorist organization under section 2 (1)(M) of UAPA, 1967.
In the petition moved through advocate Nisha Narayan and Shariq Iqbal, the outfit has also sought direction to the Centre to provide a copy of the notification banning the petitioner or notification declaring it to be a terrorist organization.
It has also sought a direction to the Centre to remove the petitioner from the list of banned organizations under UAPA.
Senior Advocate Satish Tamata counsel for the petitioner submits that after coming to know forthe first time that the petitioner has been declared as a banned organization under UAPA, 1967, one of the members of the petitioners moved an RTI application seeking details of the ban.
Thereafter, a reply was received from CPIO on May 13, 2019, that the petitioner was added to the first Schedule of UAPA, 1967 through a notification of December 30, 2004, and no other information is available with them.
The appeal preferred against the RTI reply was dismissed by Joint Secretary, (CTCR) First Appellate Authority on July 19, 2019, the senior counsel submitted.
On the other hand, ASG Chetan Sharma challenged the maintainability of the writ petition. He submitted that the petitioner organization appears to be feigning ignorance and wrongly seeks the indulgence of this Court on the basis of the reply to the RTI application in the year 2019.
It was submitted that notification relating to the petitioner organization which is a terrorist organization is covered under Chapter VI of UAPA, 1967 and a reference to Chapter II has been wrongly made on behalf of the petitioner.
It was contended by the ASG that the petition cannot be entertained after a delay of about two decades, since the petitioner organization stands duly reflected in the First Schedule of UAPA,1967 at Serial No. 29.
Further, no such presumption can be made that the petitioner was unaware of the Act of the Parliament, Sharma submitted.
He urged that an opportunity may be granted to make detailed submissions.
Considering the facts and circumstances, the bench listed the matter for consideration onDecember 15, 2022.
( With inputs from ANI )
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