The Delhi High Court has granted the National Investigation Agency (NIA) a 10-day extension to submit relevant documents pertaining to the plea for regular bail filed by Kashmiri separatist leader Shabir Ahmed Shah in connection with an alleged terror funding case. Shah’s appeal challenges an earlier order by a special judge on July 7, which had denied his bail request.
Special Public Prosecutor for NIA, Akshai Malik, requested the additional time to compile and present the necessary documents. The court acceded to this request and rescheduled the next hearing for September 22.
In a previous hearing on August 7, senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, representing Shabir Ahmed Shah, argued that the case lacked substantial evidence, referring to it as a “no material case.” He pointed out that a charge sheet had already been filed by the probe agency, the trial had commenced, and charges had been framed. Furthermore, Shah’s appeal against the order framing charges was pending before the court, with the intent to argue a lack of material evidence.
The court had subsequently issued notice and directed the NIA to submit the relevant material within the following two weeks, originally scheduling the next hearing for September 12.
The appeal states, “In the absence of any material against the appellant, the prolonged period of incarceration, the impossibility of speedy trial with 400 witnesses to be examined by the prosecution, the appellant seeks bail.” It further highlights that Shah has been in custody for over four years in the present FIR, intermittently detained for 35 years in different prisons in Kashmir and across the country, and placed under house arrest for a substantial period. Importantly, there has been no single conviction or charge against him, and nine Public Safety Acts (PSAs) against him have been quashed.
Shabir Ahmed Shah was arrested in June 2019 and is alleged to have played a significant role in establishing a separatist movement in Jammu and Kashmir. He faces accusations of honoring the families of deceased terrorists, receiving funds through hawala transactions, and raising money via LoC trade to support subversive and militant activities.
The NIA contends that several individuals accused of conspiring to gather funds to disrupt the situation in Kashmir and wage war against the Indian government have been involved in this case. Shah was included as a defendant in the second supplementary charge sheet filed by the NIA on October 4, 2019.
The Delhi High Court continues to deliberate on this case, with the next hearing scheduled for September 22.
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The Chenab Times News Desk
