New Delhi, Aug 11 — The Delhi High Court on Monday directed Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik to respond to the National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) plea seeking a death sentence for him in a terror funding case.
According to details received by The Chenab Times, a bench of Justice Vivek Chaudhary and Justice Shalinder Kaur granted Malik four weeks to file his reply and listed the matter for hearing on November 10.
Special counsel for the NIA, Advocate Akshai Malik, referred to an earlier court order dated August 9, 2024, in which Malik had opted to represent himself and appear virtually due to security concerns. The court noted that Malik did not appear virtually during Monday’s proceedings and directed his virtual presence at the next hearing.
Malik is currently serving a life sentence handed down by a trial court in May 2022 after pleading guilty to charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The trial court had ruled that the offence did not meet the “rarest of rare” threshold required for the death penalty and rejected Malik’s claim of leading a Gandhian, non-violent movement.
Charges in the case were framed in March 2022 against Malik and several others, including Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, Shabbir Ahmad Shah, Hizbul Mujahideen chief Salahuddin, Rashid Engineer, Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali, Shahid-ul-Islam, Altaf Ahmad Shah alias Fantoosh, Nayeem Khan, and Farooq Ahmad Dar alias Bitta Karate. Three accused — Kamran Yusuf, Javed Ahmad Bhatt, and Syeda Aasiya Andrabi — were discharged.
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The Chenab Times News Desk
