The agency’s counsel said the petitioner’s daughter passed away a year ago and it would file a detailed response.
Salam moved the high court against a recent trial court order, which granted him a day and six hours of custody parole.
Custody parole entails a prisoner being escorted by armed police personnel to the place of visit.
The counsel appearing for Salam said his daughter, an MBBS student, passed away in an accident and he had to observe certain ceremonies, including prayers at her grave.
He said the ceremonies were slated to begin from April 18 and end on May 2, and Salam would bear the costs of his custody parole.
“This is not a question of interim bail. One day and six hours is not a reasonable time (to travel for the ceremonies),” he said.
PFI chairperson Salam was arrested by NIA in a massive crackdown on the banned organisation in 2022.
The probe agency alleged the PFI, its officer bearers and members hatched a criminal conspiracy to raise funds for committing acts of terror in various parts of the country aside from conducting camps to indoctrinate and train their cadres for this purpose.
Preceding the nationwide ban, in near-simultaneous raids across the country as part of a multi-agency operation spearheaded by the NIA, a large number of PFI activists were detained or arrested in 11 states for allegedly supporting terror activities in the country.
The arrests were made in states and Union Territories, including Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Delhi and Rajasthan.
The government banned the PFI and several of its associate organisations on September 28, 2022 for five years under the stringent anti-terror law, the Unlawful Activities (prevention) Act (UAPA), accusing them of having links with global terror groups like the ISIS.
Last year, Salam had sought interim bail from the high court on the ground that his wife was in a “depressive state” following the death of his daughter.
The plea was however rejected by the high court, saying that Salam was “a person of great influence” who managed and administered PFI for several years, and enlarging him on interim bail would not only entail flight risk but also the possibility of several witnesses being influenced. PTI ADS ADS AMK AMK
