‘Grave suspicion… of conspiracy to establish Caliphate’

2 min readNew DelhiJun 6, 2026 10:54 AM IST

In September 2022, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had published a gazette notification declaring the organisation and its associates unlawful.

Observing that there was a “grave suspicion” of a conspiracy to overthrow the Indian government and establish an Islamic Caliphate in the country by 2047, a Delhi court on Friday ordered framing of charges in a terror case against the top leaders of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI).

“Considered as a whole, the material on record raises grave suspicion that the accused, acting through and on behalf of the Popular Front of India and its National Executive Council (NEC), agreed and acted in furtherance of a single conspiracy — to overthrow the secular democratic Government of India and to establish an Islamic Caliphate under Sharia law in India by or before the year 2047 through an armed struggle against the State,” Additional Sessions Judge Prashant Sharma said in in his order.

The NIA’s case, lodged in 2022, pertains to allegations that PFI “conspired to overthrow the secular democratic Government of India” and to establish an Islamic Caliphate under Sharia law in India by or before 2047. The agency had claimed that the objective of PFI was to be achieved “through armed struggle against the state”.

“Each accused’s role, on the material at face value, fits into one or more limbs of the conspiracy,” Judge Sharma said, ordering framing of charges against PFI and 25 other accused persons. Formal framing of charges will take place on July 10 following which trial is likely to begin against all the accused persons.

The NIA was represented in court by Special Public Prosecutor Rahul Tyagi, assistant public prosecutors Vikas Walia and Jatin Khatri, along with advocates Amit Rohilla and Shubham Goyal.

Over 1,300 criminal cases have been registered against PFI members across the country by law enforcement agencies related to offences linked to the killing of leaders associated with Hindu organisations, organising suspected terror camps, alleged radicalisation of youth, and links with foreign terrorist organisations such as the Islamic State (IS).

In September 2022, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had published a gazette notification declaring the organisation and its associates unlawful.

Nirbhay Thakur is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express who primarily covers district courts in Delhi and has reported on the trials of many high-profile cases since 2023.

Professional Background

Education: Nirbhay is an economics graduate from Delhi University.

Beats: His reporting spans the trial courts, and he occasionally interviews ambassadors and has a keen interest in doing data stories.

Specializations: He has a specific interest in data stories related to courts.

Core Strength: Nirbhay is known for tracking long-running legal sagas and providing meticulous updates on high-profile criminal trials.

Recent notable articles

In 2025, he has written long form articles and two investigations. Along with breaking many court stories, he has also done various exclusive stories.

1) A long form on Surender Koli, accused in the Nithari serial killings of 2006. He was acquitted after spending 2 decades in jail. was a branded man. Deemed the “cannibal" who allegedly lured children to his employer’s house in Noida, murdered them, and “ate their flesh” – his actions cited were cited as evidence of human depravity at its worst. However, the SC acquitted him finding various lapses in the investigation. The Indian Express spoke to his lawyers and traced the 2 decades journey.

2) For decades, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has been at the forefront of the Government’s national rankings, placed at No. 2 over the past two years alone. It has also been the crucible of campus activism, its protests often spilling into national debates, its student leaders going on to become the faces and voices of political parties of all hues and thoughts. The Indian Express looked at all court cases spanning over two decades and did an investigation.

3) Investigation on the 700 Delhi riots cases. The Indian Express found that in 17 of 93 acquittals (which amounted to 85% of the decided cases) in Delhi riots cases, courts red-flag ‘fabricated’ evidence and pulled up the police.

Signature Style

Nirbhay’s writing is characterized by its procedural depth. He excels at summarizing 400-page chargesheets and complex court orders into digestible news for the general public.

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