India, Dec. 30 -- The Supreme Court will next month hear a petition declaring the Islamic State and all its fronts a banned outfit under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. It has appointed senior lawyer Mukta Gupta to assist the court.

The petition was filed by Saquib Abdul Hamid Nachan, 64, who was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in December 2023 on charges that he heads the Islamic State module.

Nachan, who was also the former general secretary of the banned Students Islamic Movement of India, was convicted in connection with three bomb blasts in Mumbai in 2002-2003 that killed about a dozen people. He walked out of jail in November 2017 after serving his sentence.

Following his arrest by the NIA, Nachan peti...