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The Delhi High Court has denied interim bail to Popular Front of India (PFI) leader AS Ismail, accused under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, stating there was no need to interfere with the trial court's ruling.
A bench of Justices Subramonium Prasad and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar rejected Ismail's appeal, citing significant improvement in his medical condition. According to AIIMS reports, he now has only mild facial asymmetry, his right-side weakness has improved, and he is no longer wheelchair-bound. However, the Court ordered that he continue physiotherapy and prescribed medications, with regular blood pressure monitoring and monthly checkups at AIIMS. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) alleges Ismail was part of a conspiracy led by PFI members to collect funds domestically and internationally for terrorist activities across various states. According to the NIA, he was previously associated with the banned Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI), served as PFI's Tamil Nadu president, and later became a National Executive Council member. He is accused of radicalising youth and inciting them against the government and non-Islamic leadership, allegedly disrupting communal harmony and national integrity. Ismail was arrested in September 2022, with chargesheets filed in March and April 2023. He had earlier sought interim bail citing his daughter's marriage, which the trial court rejected, but granted him custody parole for eight days. In October 2024, he suffered a stroke and was treated at Safdarjung Hospital. Later, the Supreme Court extended his parole for medical treatment at Apollo Hospital, New Delhi. He later applied for six months' interim bail for further treatment at Royal Care Super Speciality Hospital, Coimbatore. Still, the trial court denied it in December 2024, leading to his current appeal. (ANI)
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