Two Kerala students who were charged under an anti-terror law for alleged Maoist links have won a legal battle in the Supreme Court, which ruled their bail was valid.
In November 2019, law student Alan Shuhaib, 21, and journalism student Thaha Fasal, 24, were arrested by the Kerala Police from Kozhikode district alleging Maoist links. They were charged under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act or UAPA, which deals with matters that threaten national security.
A court of the National Investigation Agency or NIA had granted bail to Mr Fasal in September 2020, but the Kerala High Court had cancelled it in January this year. The student then approached the Supreme Court for relief. Today, the Supreme Court restored the NIA court's order that granted bail.
In Mr Shuhaib's case, the Kerala High court had allowed the bail given by the NIA court to him. The high court allowed it based on his health condition.
However, the NIA later challenged the Kerala High Court judgment in the Supreme Court. Today, a Supreme Court bench of Justice Ajay Rastogi and Justice AS Oka dismissed the NIA's appeal and did not interfere with the high court's bail order for Mr Shuhaib.
In September 2020, both students were granted bail by an NIA court in Kochi, on the grounds that there was no proof the two were linked to Maoists.
When the two students were arrested a year ago, the police had said they have seized "objectionable printed and written material" that seemed to call for a civil war in line with Maoists.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI(M) had removed the two students from any link with the party over the Maoist link allegations.
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