‘Laden’s picture and ISIS flag…’ Why did the High Court grant bail to UAPA accused?

New Delhi. The Delhi High Court has granted bail to Ammar Abdul Rahman, grandson of late Congress MLA BM Udinabba, in the Islamic State (ISIS) Kerala module case. The Delhi High Court, while granting bail in the UAPA case, said that finding objectionable material such as terrorist Osama bin Laden’s picture, Jihad propaganda and ISIS flag on his mobile was not enough to show that he is a member of a banned terrorist organization like ISIS. .

The Delhi High Court on Monday said that in the electronic age, such objectionable material is freely available on websites and mere access and downloading of it would not be sufficient to presume that the accused has associated himself with ISIS.

The court made the remarks while granting bail to Amar Abdul Rehman, who was arrested by the NIA in August 2021. He was charged under Section 120B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and Sections 2 (O), 13, 38 and 39 of the UAPA.

It was alleged that Rehman was highly radicalized towards ISIS and wanted to “hijrah” to Jammu and Kashmir and other ISIS controlled areas (ISIS) and was involved in conducting terrorist activities to establish a caliphate in India and unknown ISIS members.

The NIA alleged that investigations into Rehman’s mobile phone revealed that he had downloaded videos of ISIS and brutal murders from Instagram using the screen recorder option. The agency also alleged that the mobile also contained images of Osama-bin-Laden, jihad propaganda, ISIS flags, etc., which linked him to radicalism and ISIS.