PFI ban: Delhi HC Justice Dinesh Kumar appointed as head of UAPA tribunal

As per procedure, the tribunal will adjudicate whether there is sufficient ground for the Union government’s ban on the Popular Front of India (PFI) and its affiliates.
Dinesh Kumar Sharma
Dinesh Kumar Sharma
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Delhi High Court judge Dinesh Kumar Sharma has been appointed as the head of the UAPA tribunal related to the ban on the Popular Front of India (PFI) and its affiliates. According to an office memorandum issued by the Department of Justice in the Law Ministry, Justice Sharma's time as head of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Tribunal will count as "actual service". Once an organisation is banned under the UAPA, a tribunal is set up by the government to adjudicate whether there is sufficient ground for the decision.

According to procedure, the Union Home Ministry requests the Law Ministry to name a sitting judge of a High Court as presiding officer of the tribunal. The Law Minister then requests the chief justice of the concerned high court to recommend a judge to head the tribunal. Justice Sharma was nominated by Delhi High Court Chief Justice SC Sharma. The office memorandum of the Department of Justice was issued on October 3. The Home Ministry will now issue a formal notification naming Justice Sharma as presiding officer of the "Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Tribunal in the matter of Popular Front of India (PFI) and its associates or affiliates or fronts".

On September 27, following a series of nationwide raids, the Union government declared the PFI and eight associate organisations as unlawful associations. The ban is in place for a period of five years.  The affiliates include Rehab India Foundation (RIF), Campus Front of India (CFI) All India Imams Council (AIC) National Confederation of Human Rights Organization (NCHRO), National Women's Front, Junior Front Empower India Foundation and Rehab Foundation, Kerala.

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