Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan will constitute “an appropriate bench” to take up the Government’s appeal against a Special Tribunal decision lifting the ban on SIMI (Students’ Islamic Movement of India SIMI). Till then, the interim stay on the decision of the Special Tribunal will be continued.A two-judge Bench of Justices S B Sinha and Cyriac Joseph, before whom the matter was placed on Monday, refused to hear it contending that earlier two notifications banning the outfit were already pending for consideration before a three-member bench. The Bench, therefore, referred the matter to the CJI for setting up of an appropriate Bench, in other words, a three-judge bench.On August 5, the Special Tribunal — headed by Delhi High Court judge Geeta Mittal — had lifted the ban imposed on SIMI by the most recent notification of the Government. It said there was no new evidence to justify the ban.The Centre had rushed to the apex court against the tribunal order, and the bench headed by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan had stayed it. It had issued a notice to SIMI and asked the Centre to place before it all documents pertaining to the justification of the ban.Since 2001, the Centre has been extending the ban on SIMI every two years, saying the outfit was continuing with its anti-national activities. It has told the Court that it was involved in various subversive activities, including the July blasts in Ahmedabad.The Government has also argued that the tribunal, set up under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, had not pressed anything on the merits of the case in its 263-page order.
