The Tribunal on Unlawful Activities (Prevention) upheld the orders passed by the Ministry of Home Affairs on Friday, declaring Jama'at-e-Islami Jammu & Kashmir as an unlawful association under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
The Ministry of Home Affairs had, through a notification in March this year, established the Unlawful Activities Prevention Tribunal, comprising a Delhi High Court judge, to determine whether there was sufficient cause for declaring Jama'at-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir an 'unlawful association'.
The tribunal upheld the ban imposed by the Central Government on the outfit and extended it to remain in force for the next five years.
The tribunal also supported the Central Government's argument that the organisation was involved in secessionist activities in the region and provided ongoing support to terrorists and their ideology on the ground.
Jama'at-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir was declared an unlawful association through a notification dated February 27, 2024, published in the Gazette of India.
"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 an unlawful association," the MHA stated in its notification.
The previous ban on the outfit was imposed on February 28, 2019, for a period of five years, and was extended on February 28, 2024, for another five years.
This judgment comes at a time when Jamaat was considering contesting the upcoming assembly elections, although this was contingent on the MHA lifting the ban on the outfit.
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