In an interesting ruling in one UAPA case , a local court in Nagpur has acquitted eight men accused of having links with the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), more than 18 years after their arrest, citing lack of evidence.
Delivering the verdict, Judicial Magistrate A.K. Bankar said the prosecution had failed to prove any unlawful activity on the part of the accused. “There is no evidence of participation in meetings, communication, propaganda, or financial support on the part of the accused,” the court observed, adding that the mere possession of literature allegedly connected to a banned outfit does not constitute guilt without proof of intent or involvement.
The men — Shakil Warsi, Shakir Ahmed Nasir Ahmed, Mohammad Rehan Atullakhan, Jiyaur Rahman Maheboob Khan, Wakar Baig Yusuf Baig, Imtiyaj Ahmed Nisar Ahmed, Mohammad Abrar Arif Mohammad Kashim, and Sheikh Ahmad Sheikh — were in their 30s when they were arrested in 2006 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and related charges.
Police had claimed the arrests followed confidential intelligence inputs and that incriminating material was seized from their residences. However, the prosecution could not furnish records of the intelligence nor establish the recoveries in court. Independent witnesses failed to corroborate the police version, and the allegation that one of the accused was sheltered by others also collapsed for want of evidence.
SIMI, formed in Aligarh in 1977, was banned by the Government of India in 2001 under the UAPA for allegedly promoting extremism and carrying out activities prejudicial to national security. The group has since remained outlawed, and hundreds of young Muslim men across India have been arrested over alleged links, with many cases later ending in acquittals due to insufficient evidence. With the charges unproven, the court acquitted all eight under Sections 10 and 13 of the UAPA.
Rights activists have pointed to the case as part of a wider trend where Muslim men spend years in jail under stringent anti-terror laws before being acquitted. In 2021, a Surat court similarly acquitted 122 people accused of attending a SIMI meeting in 2001 after prosecutors failed to establish any unlawful acts.
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