On 23 September 2022 the Popular Front of India (PFI) held a 12-hour hartal across Kerala, called the evening before, against nationwide raids and arrests of its leaders. KSRTC buses and other vehicles were stoned. The Kerala High Court held the hartal illegal and ordered the PFI and its state general secretary A. Abdul Sathar to pay Rs 5.20 crore, and five days later the Centre banned the PFI for five years under the UAPA.
Key takeaways
- On 22 September 2022, NIA-led teams arrested 106 PFI functionaries at 93 locations in 15 states, 22 of them in Kerala, officials told PTI.
- The PFI called a 6 am to 6 pm Kerala hartal for 23 September without the seven days' notice the Kerala High Court requires, making it an illegal "flash hartal".
- The Kerala High Court ordered the PFI and its state general secretary A. Abdul Sathar to deposit Rs 5.20 crore for hartal damage and made Sathar an accused in every hartal case.
- The Centre banned the PFI and eight affiliates for five years under the UAPA on 28 September 2022; a UAPA tribunal confirmed the ban in March 2023.
- Kerala attached properties of 248 PFI-linked people in January 2023 after the court criticised its delay; the PFI's challenge to the ban is pending in the Delhi High Court.
Background: the raids of 22 September
In the early hours of 22 September 2022, the NIA, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and state police searched PFI offices and leaders' homes. Officials told PTI that 106 functionaries were arrested at 93 locations in 15 states, the most (22) in Kerala, including PFI chairman O.M.A. Salam. They called it the "largest-ever investigation process till date" against the group PTI via Tribune.
The NIA's own statement said it had formally arrested 45 people, 19 from Kerala, in cases first registered in Nizamabad, Telangana, over alleged camps for training "to commit violent and terrorist acts" South First. The figure of 106 covers all agencies. A second round of raids on 27 September, mostly by state police in seven states, detained or arrested more than 150 people PTI via Onmanorama.
The hartal call and the notice rule
On 22 September the PFI announced a statewide hartal for the next day "against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-controlled fascist government's attempt to silence dissenting voices using the central agencies". The statement was issued by Sathar The Wire. It was to run from 6 am to 6 pm Onmanorama.
A Kerala High Court order of 7 January 2019 requires seven days' public notice for any hartal and treats "flash hartals" without it as illegal LiveLaw. The PFI's call came less than a day ahead.
What happened on 23 September
Petrol bomb in Kannur
At Narayanpara in Kannur, a petrol bomb was thrown at a vehicle distributing newspapers Onmanorama The Wire.
Buses stoned
Stones were thrown at vehicles in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Kozhikode and Wayanad, and two KSRTC drivers in Kozhikode were injured Onmanorama. A 15-year-old girl and an auto-rickshaw driver suffered minor injuries in stone pelting allegedly by PFI activists The Wire.
Police attacked in Kollam
At Palimukku in Kollam, protesters hit two police officers with a motorcycle. Shops were vandalised in Pothencode, and police used lathis in Erattupetta Onmanorama.
About 170 held
At least 170 people had been arrested. Three universities postponed exams Onmanorama.
Damage to KSRTC and public property
KSRTC ran services with police support. Its damage figures differ between filings:
- On the hartal day it told the High Court at least 70 buses were destroyed Onmanorama.
- Its compensation petition cited damage to 58 buses and injuries to 10 employees and one passenger, and sought Rs 5.06 crore PTI via Onmanorama Onmanorama.
- The Claims Commissioner later recorded 59 buses damaged out of 2,439 that ran that day Onmanorama.
The state government put losses at Rs 86 lakh to public property and Rs 16 lakh to private individuals PTI via Onmanorama.
Arrests and cases in Kerala
By 25 September police had arrested 1,287 people in 308 cases, the most (215) in Kottayam, and held 834 in preventive detention Onmanorama. By 7 November the government told the High Court the totals were 361 cases and 2,674 arrests, with 724 in preventive detention PTI via Onmanorama PTI via South First.
Sathar, allegedly in hiding after the hartal, was arrested at Karunagappally in Kollam on Wednesday, 28 September, hours after he posted that the PFI accepted the Home Ministry's decision and had been "disbanded" The News Minute.
The High Court's suo motu case
On 23 September a bench of Justices A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar and Mohammed Nias C.P. added the PFI, through Sathar, as a respondent in pending hartal cases. It said the call "prima facie, amounts to contempt" and ordered police to protect property and report all damage LiveLaw.
On 29 September the bench ordered the PFI to deposit Rs 5.20 crore with the Home Department within two weeks, and held the PFI and its general secretary "wholly and directly responsible" for the damage and injuries. It directed the state to make Sathar an additional accused in every hartal case and told lower courts to require payment for damage as a bail condition. It also said the state had done "virtually nothing" to stop the hartal and the police "played only a passive role" LiveLaw. Peaceful hartals with due notice, it added, remain protected speech under Article 19(1)(a).
Common man suffers, and for what? Not supporting an ideology of yours?
Kerala High Court bench, oral remark, 29 September 2022 (LiveLaw)
The ban under the UAPA
The Union Home Ministry's notification, dated 27 September, was published early on 28 September 2022. It declared the PFI and eight affiliates unlawful associations for five years under Section 3(1) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act: Rehab India Foundation, Campus Front of India, All India Imams Council, NCHRO, National Women's Front, Junior Front, Empower India Foundation and Rehab Foundation, Kerala LiveLaw South First. The SDPI, the PFI's political wing and a registered party, was not banned South First.
A UAPA tribunal headed by Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma of the Delhi High Court confirmed the ban on 21 March 2023 Tribune LiveLaw. (Some 2025 PTI reports give the year of that verdict as 2024 PTI via Onmanorama; reports from the time date it to March 2023.)
Each side's position
PFI and SDPI
Claim · PFI The PFI called the raids "harassment" and "scare tactics" and said the NIA's claims were "baseless" The Wire. After the ban, Sathar posted that "as law abiding citizens of the country, the organization accepts the decision" The News Minute.
Claim · SDPI SDPI president M.K. Faizy said an "undeclared emergency" was visible across the country. General secretary Abdul Majeed Faizy said: "As a political party, we are opposed to banning any organisation. But we do not have an obligation to defend the PFI" Deccan Herald.
The Centre
Government's position The notification said the PFI's activities were prejudicial to the country's integrity, sovereignty and security and could disturb communal harmony. It said some founders had led the banned SIMI, alleged links with Jamat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh, and cited "international linkages" with ISIS Onmanorama. It accused the group of involvement in "several criminal and terror cases" The News Minute.
Kerala government's position Kerala police promised "stern action" against lawbreakers The Wire, and Transport Minister Antony Raju said losses "will be recovered from the perpetrators" Onmanorama. On 28 September the Home Department delegated its UAPA powers over PFI funds and premises to district magistrates and police chiefs The News Minute. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told officials to follow legal procedure: "There is no need for undue haste" Onmanorama. The ruling CPI(M) said political isolation was the answer, while the Congress and BJP welcomed the ban PTI via Devdiscourse. CPI(M) state secretary M.V. Govindan said "the first priority must be the RSS" if bans were for fanning violence South First.
Recovering the damages
The PFI did not pay, and recovery was slow. On 19 December 2022 the court said "nothing substantial" had been done against PFI assets LiveLaw. Four days later the state offered an unconditional apology LiveLaw, and on 18 January 2023 the court set a 23 January deadline PTI via South First.
By then properties of 248 people linked to the PFI had been attached, 126 in Malappuram, and some owners said they had no link to it Onmanorama. The government admitted some attachments were errors caused by similar names, and on 2 February 2023 the court ordered those properties released; counsel said 18 unconnected people were affected LiveLaw Madhyamam.
In March 2025 the Claims Commissioner, former district judge P.D. Sarangadharan, put KSRTC's loss at Rs 2.43 crore rather than the Rs 5.14 crore it claimed, and recommended recovery from PFI leaders and supporters Onmanorama.
Outcome
- Deaths: None reported.
- Injuries: 10 KSRTC staff and one passenger (KSRTC); two police officers in Kollam.
- Cases and arrests: 361 cases, 2,674 arrests in Kerala.
- Court: Hartal held illegal; Rs 5.20 crore deposit ordered.
- Ban: Five years from 28 September 2022, confirmed March 2023.
- Property: Assets of 248 people attached.
Where things stand
The PFI first went to the Supreme Court, which told it to approach the High Court. On 13 October 2025 the Delhi High Court held its petition maintainable, rejecting the Centre's argument that a tribunal headed by a sitting High Court judge cannot be challenged under Article 226 LiveLaw. It listed the case for 20 January 2026 PTI via Onmanorama. No ruling on the merits, final order on the Claims Commissioner's report, or verdict in the hartal cases had been reported by October 2026.
Questions people ask
Why did the PFI call a hartal on 23 September 2022?
To protest the 22 September raids by the NIA, ED and state police. The PFI said central agencies were being used to silence dissent.
Why was the PFI hartal illegal?
A 2019 Kerala High Court order requires seven days' notice for a hartal. The PFI gave less than a day, so the court treated it as an illegal flash hartal.
How much did the High Court order the PFI to pay?
Rs 5.20 crore. When it was not paid, the state attached properties of PFI-linked people under the Revenue Recovery Act.
Is the PFI ban still in force?
Yes. A UAPA tribunal confirmed it in March 2023, and the PFI's challenge is pending in the Delhi High Court.
Was the SDPI banned?
No. The SDPI is a registered political party and was not on the list.
Sources
- PTI via Tribune: Mega crackdown on PFI, 106 functionaries arrested in NIA's raids in 15 states, 22 Sept 2022
- South First: 45 senior leaders of PFI arrested as NIA raids 93 locations, 22 Sept 2022
- PTI via Onmanorama: NIA crackdown on PFI continues, more than 150 held, 27 Sept 2022
- The Wire: Kerala HC takes suo motu cognisance of PFI strike as violence reported, 23 Sept 2022
- Onmanorama: PFI hartal, violence at various places, 170 arrested; petrol bomb hurled in Kannur, 23 Sept 2022
- LiveLaw: PFI's flash hartal illegal, Kerala High Court initiates suo motu contempt proceedings, 23 Sept 2022
- Onmanorama: PFI hartal violence, 274 more arrested in Kerala, 26 Sept 2022
- Onmanorama: KSRTC seeks Rs 5.06 crore in damages from PFI hartal organisers, 27 Sept 2022
- South First: Days after raids, Union government bans PFI, 8 affiliate outfits under UAPA, 28 Sept 2022
- The News Minute: Senior PFI leader in Kerala arrested hours after he disbands state outfit, 28 Sept 2022
- The News Minute: Kerala and Tamil Nadu governments declare PFI unlawful organisation, Sept 2022
- PTI via Devdiscourse: Kerala govt takes steps to implement ban on PFI, 28 Sept 2022
- LiveLaw: Kerala High Court directs PFI to deposit Rs 5.20 crore for flash hartal damages, 29 Sept 2022
- The News Minute: Kerala HC orders PFI to deposit Rs 5.2 cr for damages during flash hartal, 29 Sept 2022
- Onmanorama: PFI ban, no need for undue haste, follow legal procedure, says CM, 29 Sept 2022
- Deccan Herald: SDPI hopes to sail through this storm, Oct 2022
- PTI via Onmanorama: Kerala suffers Rs 86 lakh loss during PFI hartal violence, state govt tells HC, 8 Nov 2022
- LiveLaw: High Court pulls up Kerala govt over delay in recovering damages from PFI, 19 Dec 2022
- LiveLaw: State government tenders unconditional apology for delay in recovering Rs 5.20 crore from PFI, 24 Dec 2022
- PTI via South First: Irked by delay, Kerala HC asks state to complete recovery proceedings by 23 January, 18 Jan 2023
- Onmanorama: PFI hartal damages, assets of 248 persons attached, 22 Jan 2023
- LiveLaw: Kerala HC directs release of properties of persons with no connection to PFI, 2 Feb 2023
- Madhyamam: Kerala govt ordered by HC to release properties of non-PFI members, 3 Feb 2023
- Tribune: Ban on PFI confirmed by tribunal, 21 Mar 2023
- LiveLaw: UAPA Tribunal upholds Centre's decision to ban PFI and its affiliates, Mar 2023
- Onmanorama: Not Rs 5.14 cr, KSRTC incurred loss worth Rs 2.43 cr in PFI hartal, official informs HC, 20 Mar 2025
- LiveLaw: Delhi High Court holds PFI's plea against ban maintainable, issues notice to Centre, 13 Oct 2025
- PTI via Onmanorama: Delhi HC admits PFI plea challenging ban by UAPA tribunal, 13 Oct 2025