NEW DELHI: Supreme Court Friday refused to grant bail on medical grounds to former chairman of the outlawed Popular Front of India (PFI) E Abubacker in a case filed against him under anti-terror law UAPA.
Abubacker was arrested by NIA during a crackdown on the organisation in 2022. HC had on May 28 last year dismissed his plea for bail.
A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and Rajesh Bindal said it was not inclined to release Abubacker at this stage after looking at the medical report. The top court granted liberty to the petitioner to approach the trial court for bail.
It also rejected the submission of senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayan, appearing for Abubacker, that the petitioner may be kept under house arrest if he is not released on bail.
Solicitor general Tushar Mehta objected to it, saying requesting for house arrest has now become a “new concept”.
During the hearing, Sankaranarayan referred to the medical report and said the petitioner was suffering from Parkinson’s disease. Additional solicitor general S V Raju, for NIA, opposed the bail and said all the medical conditions raised by him have been taken care of through various treatments. The high court had on May 28 last year dismissed Abubacker’s plea for bail.
