Setback for NIA: Court quashes confiscation of Popular Front's assets; appeal to be filed against court order

KOCHI: The NIA will appeal against the Kochi court order quashing the confiscation of ten properties of the banned organisation Popular Front. The court order was dated June 30. The judgment was in an appeal filed by the heirs and trustees of the property, challenging the confiscation proceedings. The court rejected the NIA's argument that these properties were being used for the activities of the Popular Front.

The properties exempted from confiscation include 10.27 hectares of land and the building of the Malappuram Green Valley Foundation. Alappuzha Social Cultural and Education Trust, Shahul Hameed's shopping complex in Mannancherry-Alappuzha, Karunya Foundation Trust's property in Karunagappally, Pandalam Educational and Charitable Trust's land and building, a building owned by three people in Chavakkad, Islamic Center Trust's property in Mananthavady, Abdul Sattar Haji Moosa Sait Juma Masjid's land in Aluva, KT Aziz's shopping complex in Kalpaka Junction-Pattambi, and Obelisk Properties and Developers' building in Meenchanda-Kozhikode should also be released.

The NIA had alleged that the Green Valley campus was being used to train Popular Front cadres and manufacture explosives. The court accepted the argument that the seized properties were established before the Popular Front and the National Development Front (NDF) came into existence.