SC rejects plea by deceased UAPA accused Saquib Nachan challenging Govt of India’s declaration of ISIS as a terrorist organisation, claiming ‘Caliphate’ and ‘Jihad’ can’t be associated with terrorism
The Supreme Court of India, on Tuesday (5th August), dismissed a petition filed by the deceased terror accused, Saquib Nachan, challenging two government notifications declaring ISIS and its related groups as terrorist organisations under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967. The plea, which was filed in December 2024 by Nachan, who died of a brain hemorrhage in June this year, came up for hearing before a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymala Bagchi on Tuesday.
In his plea, Nachan had alleged that he and his son, Shamil Nachan, were wrongfully arrested for their suspected ISIS links. The top court observed that the allegations could only be addressed through proceedings before a competent criminal court.
Dismissing the petition, the bench said that it was not inclined to entertain a blanket challenge to the notifications issued by the government under Section 35 of the UAPA in February 2015 and June 2018.
Senior Advocate Mukta Gupta was assisting the court as amicus curiae after the death of Nachan. She submitted before the court that the notifications breached the fundamental rights of the petitioners under Article 25 of the Constitution by ‘misterpreting’ terms like “Caliphate” and “Jihad” and equating them with terrorism. Gupta added that the petitioner contended that no procedure similar to that prescribed under Section 3 of the UAPA for “unlawful associations” was followed by the government in making the declaration.
“He says the word ‘caliphate’ is wrongly interpreted. That violates his fundamental right to religion. He has given substantial portions indicating what, according to the Quran, is the meaning of caliphate and jihad,” Gupta said.
The Apex Court disagreed with the reasoning of the petitioner and clarified that the religious terms used in the impugned notifications had to be interpreted in the context of the alleged terrorist activity, not scripture.
“When the notification used the word ‘caliphate’, it was in relation to terrorist activity. So it has to be read in that context,” said Justice Bagchi.
The amicus curiae stated that the question of whether an organisation is unlawful or not is examined by a tribunal, but Section 35 of the UAPA does not lay down any mechanism for declaring an organisation as a terrorist outfit. Besides, she claimed that the term ‘terrorist organisation’ is not defined in the UAPA and therefore the government can only declare an organisation as ‘unlawful association’ under Section 3 of the Act.
Responding to Gupta’s submissions, Justice Kant pointed out that the Act defines the term ‘terrorist act’ and thus any organisation involved in such activities can be declared as a ‘terrorist organisation’. He added that through this petition, the petitioner intended to secure relief in individual criminal proceedings and that the petition did not pose a constitutional challenge to the notifications.
“It seems to us that instead of a challenge to the impugned notifications, the remedy for the petitioner and his son lies in approaching the appropriate forum,” the Court noted.
Justice Kant observed that the petitioner had the option of seeking bail or other relief before the appropriate criminal forum. “He can always avail his remedy before the appropriate forum,” Justice Kant said, disposing the petition.
Saquib Nachan, who converted an entire village into a hub of terrorism
Terrorist Saquib Nachan was accused of orchestrating three deadly bomb blasts in a span of four months (6th December 2002 to 13th March 2003) in the financial hub Mumbai. In the last blast, 11 people were killed while 82 were injured. He targeted busy railway stations and markets to maximise the impact of his terror plots. He was arrested by Mumbai police on April 10, 2003, and served 8 years in jail. He was thereafter released on bail on a bond of ₹1 lakh.
In March 2016, Saquib was convicted in the blast case. However, he spent less than 2 years in jail and was released in November 2017, five months earlier than expected, on account of being ‘disciplined’ in jail. In the meantime, he was arrested on 4th August 2012 in connection with the attempted murder of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) activist Manoj Raicha. He was released on bail in August 2014.
Conviction and imprisonment could not deter Saquib, who continued his terrorist activities after being released. He was arrested by the NIA on 9th December 2023 for running an ISIS module in Maharashtra. Preliminary investigation revealed that Saquib had declared the village of Padgha in rural Thane as a ‘liberated zone’ and ‘Al-Sham’. This nomenclature for referring to areas is reportedly followed in Syria. NIA also revealed that he was at the helm of motivating impressionable Muslim youth to relocate to Padgha from their places of residence to strengthen the Padgha base.
On August 11, 2023, the NIA arrested his son, Shamil Nachan, in connection with Pune ISIS module case. He was sent to judicial custody. The central agency discovered incriminating evidence from his home in Thane. Shamil Nachan, along with five other accused, assembled Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) at a house in Pune. He had also organised a bomb (IED) assembly and training workshop in the same location in 2022.
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