Jaipur: Rajasthan High Court Monday dismissed appeals filed by 10persons allegedly linked to SUFA who wanted the charges framed against them in an alleged terror conspiracy to be cancelled. The high court said the investigation material was enough to go to trial and upheld a trial court order dated July 31, 2024.SUFA is described by investigators as an ISIS-inspired local group based in Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh, accused of radicalising youth and teaching them to make improvised explosive devices (IEDs).A division bench of Chief Justice Sanjay K Agrawal and Justice Sameer Jain rejected the appeals, including those filed by Mazhar Khan, Aakif Ateeque Nachan, Imran Khan, Amin Khan, Mohammed Ameen Patel, Saifulla, Altmash Khan, Zubair Khan, Mohammed Yunus Saki and Imran.The case began on March 30, 2022, when police stopped a Baleno car at Wonder Chouraha in Nimbahera, Chittorgarh district. Police claimed to have recovered about 3 kg of explosive material and items like watches, batteries, wires and bulbs from the car. An FIR was subsequently registered under the Explosive Substances Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).Later, the investigation was transferred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which filed a chargesheet against 11 people, saying 10 had been arrested and one was absconding.The NIA argued that SUFA was formed by around 70 youths and that members were shown ISIS-related videos. Special public prosecutor representing NIA, Snehdeep, informed the high court about an alleged SUFA meeting on March 25, 2022, where a plan was discussed to collect IEDs and transport them to Jaipur, and said videos recovered allegedly from Aakif’s mobile phone were part of the evidence.The accused persons’ lawyers argued that the prosecution had not proven involvement through reliable travel records, mobile location data or direct recovery of illegal material, and questioned the arrests and electronic evidence. The NIA said the evidence must be looked at together, not item by item.
