The Tribunal had asked all the four affected states — Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Goa and Maharashtra to file their affidavits. The deadline for Karnataka was December 7. Headed by Justice Mukul Mudgal of Delhi High Court, the tribunal  will hold its hearing in Bangalore on December 18,19 and 20. It reviews the ban on Anjuman every two years after it was banned in 2000.

The affidavit filed by V S D’Souza, superintendent, Karnataka Intelligence, has stated that four cases are being tried in Karnataka for serial church blasts by the members of the Deendar Anjuman, in 2000 at the Central Prison, Parappana Agrahara.

“Lifting of the ban at this stage would adversely affect the interest of the prosecution, encourage the militant organisations and its members in re-grouping themselves and embolden the activists of Deendar Anjuman to make sinister plans affecting the internal security, unity and communal harmony of the country,” it states. The blasts took place in various churches, at Wadi in Gulbarga, Hubli and JJ Nagar, Bangalore. In the fourth instance, after placing a timer in JJ Nagar church when the accused were carrying explosives, to be planted in another church, the Maruti van in which they were travelling exploded, killing two people. The State has submitted that all the accused arraigned in the various chargesheets are followers of the banned sect Deendar Anjuman, which has an ulterior motive of ‘Islamisation’.