MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court has ruled that Dawood Ibrahim, who has been declared a terrorist under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), is recognized as such in his individual capacity, meaning any association with him or his gang does not automatically invoke provisions of the stringent law.
This decision was pronounced by the division bench of Justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande, who granted bail to two individuals arrested by the Maharashtra Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) in August 2022.
The ATS had apprehended Faiz Bhiwandiwala and Parvez Vaid, alleging that they were members of Dawood Ibrahim’s gang. Bhiwandiwala was found with 600 grams of ganja, and both were charged under UAPA for allegedly being members of a terrorist organization, committing terrorist acts, and collecting funds for such acts, as well as under provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.
In its judgment, the High Court noted that the Union government, on September 4, 2019, had issued a notification declaring “Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar as a ‘Terrorist’ under the UAPA.” This classification, however, applies only to Dawood Ibrahim as an individual.
The court stated, “UAPA has segregated the activities of an individual, which would amount to a terrorist act on one hand, and the activities by the terrorist gang and terrorist organization on the other.”
The bench further clarified, “In our view, prima facie, the offence of Section 20 of the UAPA (being member of a terrorist organization) would not be attracted, as Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar has been declared as a terrorist in individual capacity. Therefore, any association with him on the pretext that a person belongs to D-gang/Dawood gang will not attract the provisions of Section 20.”
Additionally, the court noted that the charges against the accused under UAPA sections 17 and 18, which involve committing a terror act and collecting funds for such an act, were not substantiated.
“Additional Public Prosecutor S.V. Gavand, on instructions from the ATS officer, made a statement that there was no material in the chargesheet establishing the accusations under UAPA sections 17 and 18,” the court mentioned.
The court also observed that the amount of contraband allegedly seized from Bhiwandiwala was relatively small. Consequently, the accused were granted bail upon furnishing a personal bond of Rs 50,000 each.
