New Delhi: The Center on Friday constituted a seven-member team of lawyers led by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to seek a five-year ban under UAPA on the Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) founded by fugitive evangelist Zakir Naik. To defend the notification before an Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Tribunal.
The Home Ministry nominated six senior central government lawyers Sachin Dutta, Amit Mahajan, Rajat Nair, Kanu Agarwal, Jai Prakash and Dhruv Pandey to appear before the UAP tribunal, which will examine the need, reasons and requirements of the ban. imposed on IRF.
The IRF was declared an “unlawful association” under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act on November 17, 2016 for a period of five years. The ban on IRFs was extended for five more years by a new notification issued on November 15.
The MHA, in its notification, had said that if the activities of the “unlawful association” were not curbed, it would continue its subversive activities and encourage its absconding activists to create communal disharmony, propagate anti-national sentiments and support extremism. will reorganize for
The Central Government was of the opinion that the IRF and its members, in particular, its founder and chairman Zakir Abdul Karim Naik alias Zakir Naik, promote or attempt to promote its followers on grounds of religion, enmity or sentiments encouraging and helping. Enmity, hatred or ill-will between different religious communities and groups which is prejudicial to the integrity and security of the country.
It cited his statements and speeches as objectionable and subversive, and said that Naik, through such speeches and statements, was inspiring youth of a particular religion to commit terrorist acts in India and abroad. He will have to produce evidence before the tribunal to justify the new notification.