Tribunal upholds ban on SIMI

New Delhi, Aug 1 (IANS) The Delhi High Court's special tribunal constituted to examine the sixth ban on the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) Wednesday upheld the measure.

Headed by Delhi High Court Judge V.K. Shali, the tribunal submitted a report to home ministry upholding the ban. The order came after the home ministry issued a notification in February extending the ban on SIMI by two years.

SIMI has links with Pakistan-based terrorist outfits including Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and its front, Indian Mujahideen, officials say.

The ban order had been upheld five times after mandatory scrutiny by a tribunal. Only on one occasion, in 2008, the tribunal had quashed the ban, but the Supreme Court stayed this.

The central government had first declared SIMI an unlawful association on Sep 27, 2001 and then consecutively in September 2003 and February 2006.