A Delhi court on Friday (June 5, 2026) ordered the framing of charges against 25 people associated with the banned Popular Front of India (PFI), including its chairman, holding that the investigation so far has disclosed a “grave suspicion” of a conspiracy to overthrow India’s secular democratic government and establish an Islamic caliphate governed by Sharia law by 2047.
Additional Sessions Judge Prashant Sharma of the Patiala House Courts directed that charges be framed under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against the accused including PFI chairman O.M.A. Salam, vice-chairman E.M. Abdul Rahiman, general secretary Anis Ahmed, founding chairman E. Abubacker, founding PFI National Executive Council (NEC) member P. Koya, NEC member Mohammed Ali Jinnah and several other national and State-level functionaries. Similar charges were framed on the PFI as an organisation.
“Considered as a whole, the material on record raises grave suspicion that the accused, acting through and on behalf of the Popular Front of India and its National Executive Council (NEC), agreed and acted in furtherance of a single conspiracy to overthrow the secular democratic Government of India and to establish an Islamic Caliphate under Sharia law in India by or before the year 2047 through an armed struggle against the State,” the orders reads.
The judge noted that the alleged conspiracy operated at multiple levels, with different accused assigned specific roles. According to the order, some members were involved in strategic decision-making at the NEC level, while others handled State-level execution, recruitment, arms training, terror financing and support activities linked to the Islamic State (ISIS).
The court referred to several meetings, training programmes and organisational activities relied upon by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to establish what it described as a “meeting of minds” among the accused.
Among the events cited were the 2018 Leadership Eligibility Course in Pune, where NEC members allegedly conducted specialised sessions; a 2017 NEC meeting in Aurangabad, where one accused was introduced as the all-India physical education coordinator; and a review visit to Hyderabad in 2021 by a senior PFI functionary.
The order also mentions meetings held during the Shaheen Bagh protests in Delhi in 2021, interactions relating to the organisation’s Mohalla Committee initiative in Madurai in Tamil Nadu, and gatherings at Freedom Hall and Mithur in Karnataka.
A key piece of evidence cited by the court was the confidential “Vision 2047” document, which the prosecution alleged outlined the organisation’s long-term objective of establishing Islamic rule in India. The court noted that the document purportedly identified one of the accused as the future Amir of the proposed caliphate.
During the hearings on framing of charges, Special Public Prosecutor Rahul Tyagi alleged that the banned organisation had sought to radicalise Muslim youth, promote hostility towards Hindus, and build a network capable of destabilising the country. He argued that the PFI had concealed its objectives behind welfare activities and was working towards establishing an Islamic state.
Mr. Tyagi was assisted by Assisting Public Prosecutor Vikas Walia, Jatin Khatri, advocate Amit Rohilla and advocate Shubham Goyal.
The defence challenged the prosecution’s claims by comparing PFI with RSS and contended that if the latter could advocate a ‘Hindu Rashtra’, the PFI could not be faulted merely for expressing support for an Islamic nation.
The NIA had registered a case of UAPA against PFI leaders in April 2022. The Union government subsequently banned the organisation and its affiliates. The ban was later upheld by the UAPA Tribunal.
Published - June 05, 2026 10:34 pm IST
Source: The Hindu - India News
