SC allows withdrawal of pleas challenging validity of UAPA provisions
Supreme Court withdrew their pleas on Thursday, saying they have decided to move appropriate forums. A bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal, which had on Wednesday said it will not allow «proxy litigation» to challenge the vires of the anti-terror law UAPA, allowed as many as eight petitions to be withdrawn, after the petitioners' counsels said they would like to approach the jurisdictional high courts for relief.
The bench had asked the counsel for petitioners to seek instruction by Thursday whether they want to approach the high court to quash the FIR in UAPA cases or they want to challenge the vires of the law in the top court.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for three civil society members, including a journalist, who were booked under the anti-terror law by Tripura Police in 2021 over their social media posts on riots in the state, said he has received instructions from his clients to withdraw the petitions.
Bhushan said that the interim order dated November 17, 2021 granting protection from arrest be extended by two weeks.
Justice Trivedi said the court is not going to pass any such order but orally asked the Tripura police to not take any coercive action.
«Normally, we would have not entertained such petitions under Article 32 of the Constitution. We are not going to pass any such order. We are not saying anything in the order but you (Tripura police) don't do anything,» she said.
Bhushan urged the bench to allow the petitioners to appear before the high court through video
