SC suggests terror convict Saquib Nachan to avail amicus curiae help

New Delhi, Dec 4 The Supreme Court on Wednesday suggested terror convict Saquib Nachan to avail assistance of amicus curiae in his petition seeking quashing of two government notifications which had declared the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and an allied outfit as terrorist organisations.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan suggested Nachan, who has filed the writ plea as a petitioner-in-person, to avail assistance of amicus curiae (friend of the court) in the matter.

To this, Nachan, who appeared virtually before the apex court from Tihar jail, nodded and expressed his agreement.

The apex court said that it would direct prison authorities to allow Nachan to meet the amicus curiae.

In an earlier hearing, the Supreme Court had ordered authorities of Tihar Jail to ensure proper online connectivity in the course of the hearing after Nachan could not complete his submissions due to poor connectivity.

It had said that it would consider on the next date of hearing “the desirability of appointment of amicus curiae for the assistance of the court”.

Nachan was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for his alleged active involvement in promoting terrorist activities of the designated foreign terrorist organisation.

"The accused, Shamil Saquib Nachan, a resident of Padgha, Thane, was found involved in the fabrication, training and testing of improvised explosive devices (IED) for the commission of terrorist acts. He had been working in collaboration with five other accused, identified as Zulfikar Ali Barodawala, Mohammed Imran Khan, Mohammed Yunus Saki, Simab Nasiruddin Kazi and Abdul Kadir Pathan, along with some other suspects," the NIA had said.

The anti-terror agency claimed that these members of an ISIS sleeper module, including Shamil, were operating from a house in Pune’s Kondhwa and also organised and participated in bomb training and making workshops.

It added that the accused had plans to commit terrorist acts with the aim of disturbing the peace and communal harmony of the country and had planned to wage war against the Government of India in furtherance of the ISIS agenda.