Mathura: The hearing of the Popular Front of India (PFI) members case will now be conducted at the Special NIA Court in Lucknow, according to an order passed on Wednesday.
Last year on October 7, five members of the Popular Front of India were arrested by the police on their way to Hathras on allegations of possessing suspicious items.
The five, along with two others arrested earlier, have been accused of sedition. The hearing of this case was going on in the Court of Additional Sessions headed by judge Anil Kumar Pandey in Mathura.
The Special Task Force (STF) informed the Court of Additional Sessions Judge in its application that by the order of April 20, 2021, the government has constituted a special court by exercising the powers under section 22 of the NIA Act. Therefore, the matter should be sent to that court.
A team of advocates - Madhuvan Dutt Chaturvedi, Saifan Shaikh, Mukul Gaur and Faisal argued on behalf of the accused and opposed the directions set by STF.
The application was however accepted, and the matter will now be handed over to the special NIA court in Lucknow. The next hearing over this case will be held on January 7, as informed by advocate Chaturvedi.
Five of the accused PFI members including journalist Siddiqui Kappan, Atikur Rahman, Alam, Masood and the General Secretary of Student Wing Organisation, Rauf Sharif are currently locked up in the Mathura district jail, while two other PFI members- Feroz Khan and Ansad Badruddin - are locked up in the Lucknow jail.
In an investigation by the Noida STF, another name of a Delhi resident had come forth during the investigation. This person named Danish is on a run for the past several months, while the police haven't been able to catch him. The ADJ First Court has issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against Danish.
