The Central government on Wednesday notified that theUnlawful Activities (Prevention) Tribunal has upheld that there is"sufficient credible material and grounds" to declare Jammu andKashmir Liberation Front (JKLF-Y), a faction headed by Yasin Malik, as an"unlawful association".

The incumbent government had in March declared the factionas an unlawful association, following which a tribunal, headed by JusticeChander Shekhar was constituted to adjudicate the same. The tribunal, in itsorder on September 20, held that the activities of the faction are"disruptive in character, which threatens the sovereignty and territorialintegrity of India".

"The Central government had sufficient crediblematerial and grounds for taking action for declaring `JKLF-Y` as an `unlawfulassociation`. It is held that there is `sufficient cause` to confirm thenotification of the act declaring `JKLF-Y` to be an `unlawfulassociation`," Justice Chander Shekhar stated in the order.

The order stated that the faction has been acting "incollusion with other similar groups to disrupt peace and harmony in Jammu andKashmir". To substantiate its contention before the tribunal, the Centralgovernment had submitted a list of 98 FIR filed against the faction. "Acareful perusal of the FIRs brought on record makes it apparent that theassociation has been actively indulging in and supporting anti-nationalactivities," Justice Shekhar stated.

The tribunal observed that there is a sufficient noticeablecredible material including the FIRs coupled with corroborative intelligenceinputs which justified the action taken by the government. "Even in caseswhere FIRs are lodged for slogan shouting, the contents of the slogan are adirect affront to the sovereignty of the state and are undoubtedlyanti-national ... such protests can certainly not be a part of any democraticprocess," the order stated.

It asserted that there is a significant difference inprotesting on an issue and protesting for "territorial sovereignty"."There are statements attributed to Yasin Malik which are separatists incharacter and support extremism and militancy in Jammu and Kashmir. Suchstatements have the potential of instigating sentiments which ultimately becomeprejudicial to the territorial integrity and security of the country," itsaid.

The tribunal also rebutted the contentions put forth by thefaction that the exercise of banning it is "vindictive in character orunconstitutional".