A special tribunal headed by a Delhi High Court judge on Monday upheld the Centre’s notification extending the ban on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for another two years.
The Union Home Ministry had issued the notification, declaring the LTTE an unlawful association, on May 14.
Justice Vikramjit Sen, who was heading the special tribunal constituted under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, upheld the government’s decision, saying “there is sufficient evidence against the organisation to justify the extension of the ban”.
The LTTE is a militant group that has waged a violent campaign against the Sri Lankan government since the 1970s, to create a separate Tamil state in the northern and eastern part of the island nation. The group, led by V. Prabhakaran, has been proscribed as a terrorist organisation by several countries including the US. It was involved in the assassination of former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in May 1991 and has been banned by India since 1992.
Additional Solicitor General P.P. Malhotra, while appearing before the tribunal, contended that although the LTTE was based in Sri Lanka, it had sympathisers and agents on Indian soil and there was urgent need to continue with the ban.
{{/usCountry}}Additional Solicitor General P.P. Malhotra, while appearing before the tribunal, contended that although the LTTE was based in Sri Lanka, it had sympathisers and agents on Indian soil and there was urgent need to continue with the ban.
{{/usCountry}}