Thaha Fasal, the other accused in the case, has also moved the SC against the Kerala High Court order that cancelled his bail.
Image credit: Sooraj AK / FB
The Supreme Court has issued a notice in the special leave petition to Kerala student Alan Shuhaib, who was booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) over alleged Maoist links, and is now out on bail. The notice was issued after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) moved the SC, challenging the Kerala High Court’s decision not to cancel Alan's bail, Live Law reported. In November 2019, the Kerala police arrested then 21-year-old Alan Shuhaib, a law student, and 24-year-old journalism student Thaha Fasal, from Pantheerankavu in Kozhikode district, alleging Maoist links. The police had allegedly confiscated posters linked with the outfit at Alan and Thaha’s residences. The case was taken over by the NIA later. Ten months after the duo was arrested, in September last year, Alan and Thaha were granted bail by the NIA court in Kochi, on a notable observation that there is no proof to state that the students were Maoist members. However, in January this year, the Kerala High Court set aside the bail granted to Thaha. Alan’s bail was not cancelled on the grounds of his health condition. According to a Live Law report, Thaha had recently moved the SC, challenging the High Court order that cancelled his bail. Following this, the NIA moved the SC with a special leave petition, challenging the same order, but against the HC decision which allowed Alan’s bail to continue. Justices UU Lalit and Ajay Rastogi have reportedly tagged the two petitions together and have posted the pleas for hearing in the third week of September. Both Alan and Thaha, who were CPI(M) members, were expelled from the party after their arrest in the UAPA case. The ruling CPI(M) and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, had drawn a lot of flak for charging the students with the stringent UAPA. Notably, in the September 2020 order of the NIA court that granted bail to the students, the court had held many significant observations. From stating that possession of Maoist literature of being a Maoist does not incriminate a person. However, the Kerala High Court in January, tossed many observations of the lower court, stating that the latter went “overboard in scrutinising the findings of the investigation agency” as if it was a “trial in the case”. The HC’s decision was criticised by many, as it was accused of dismissing important observations by the lower court. Read details of both the court orders: No proof that Alan, Thaha are CPI (Maoist) members: NIA court's 4 key observations Why HC’s dismissal of NIA court’s bail to Thaha in UAPA case is being criticised
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