The Kerala High Court on 17 February has allowed an accused in the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act to attend the examinations for the course he has been pursuing. The court allowed the accused to write the second semester LLB exam which was scheduled for 18 February and stated that if the University informs them that he can attend the examination, the National Investigation Agency should be prepared to arrange for it.
As per reports, Allen Shuhaib (law student) along with another accused Thaha Fasal (journalism student) was arrested under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) from Pantheerankavu in Kozhikode, on 1 November 2019. They were charged under Sections 20 (punishment for being a member of terrorist gang or organization), 38 (offense relating to membership of a terrorist organization) and 39 (offense relating to support given to a terrorist organization) of the UAPA.
However, the accused argued that “We are not Maoists. We are CPI-M activists. The Chief Minister, who says we are Maoists, should bring proof as to who we killed and where did we place bombs. In the last election, we have served as CPI-M booth agents. We are the ones who went out to vote and pasted posters for CPI-M.”
Subsequently, the National Investigation Agency, which took over the case, has filed a custody appeal in the special NIA court in Kochi seeking further interrogation of the accused.
