In a stinging observation, the Supreme Court on Thursday decribed the banned Students Islamic Movement of India as a "secessionst movement."

"You are a secessionist movement. You have not stopped your activities," a Bench of Justice S B Sinha and Markandeya Katju observed while dealing with the special leave petition filed by SIMI challenging the ban imposed on it.

Counsel Kamini Jaiswal, appearing for the proscribed outfit, argued that there was no evidence to link SIMI to any anti-national activity after 2003.

The Bench then directed that the matter be tagged along with other appeals filed by the organisation.

In the present SLP, SIMI challenged the judgment of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act Tribunal headed by Justice B N Chaturvedi of the Delhi high court, which confirmed the ban imposed on the organisation by the Union government on February 8, 2006.

The organisation claimed that the ban was violative of its fundamental rights of expression, right to assemble peacefully without arms and the right to form associations enshrined in Article 19 (1) (a) (b) (c) of the Constitution; and freedom of religion as enshrined in Article 25.

Besides the ban imposed last year, SIMI was banned for its alleged anti-national activities by the Centre earlier on September 27, 2001 and September 27, 2003.