Delhi HC refuses to grant bail to ISIS associate in terrorism case

New Delhi, The Delhi High Court has refused to grant bail to an alleged member of ISIS in the NIA terror case related to radicalization of youth using cyberspace.

A bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Amit Sharma dismissed the bail plea of Md Heydaitullah, who allegedly used Telegram groups to propagate the ideology of the terrorist group in India and recruit others.

The defendant questioned the first-instance court’s decision refusing to grant any assistance, justifying it on the grounds that merely associating with or supporting a terrorist organization would not constitute a crime within the meaning of the Act on the Prevention of Illegal Activities.

The court rejected this argument and said that Heydaitullah, a qualified MBA graduate working in an IT company in Gurugram, was not a “passive” supporter as materials showed that he was in favor of “jihad to establish a Caliphate” even through brutal means.

“The appellant admittedly took the oath in 2018 on behalf of Abu Bakr al Baghdadi and Abu al-Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi. Abu Bakr al Baghdadi is a well-known leader of ISIS and, according to the indictment, he declared that he had established a “caliphate” in June 2014. – stated the court in the judgment issued on January 10.

“ISIS has been recognized as a terrorist organization and the court may draw attention to the fact that the whole world knows about ISIS’s activities. The appellant is an educated person and was well aware of the nature of ISIS activities,” he added.

Dismissing the allegation, the court stated that the prohibition on granting bail pursuant to the AuA was unquestionably applicable in the case.

Following the registration of an FIR in 2021, the National Investigation Agency arrested the accused on October 22, 2022.

The prosecutor accused him of spreading ISIS ideology in cyberspace and spreading hatred against the Indian government by promoting hostility against Hindus on social media.

It was further alleged that he transferred funds to ISIS from his bank account and during investigation various materials including oath of allegiance, methods of preparing explosives etc. were recovered from him.

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