New Delhi, Dec 23: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed the appeals filed by Kashmiri separatist leaders Masarat Alam Bhat, Shabir Ahmed Shah, Nayeem Ahmad Khan, businessman Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali, and others challenging the trial court’s order framing charges against them in a terror funding case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
A Division Bench of Justices Vivek Chaudhary and Manoj Jain also rejected the appeals filed by the sons of Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin, Shahid Yousuf and Syed Ahmad Shakeel. The court observed that appeals against interlocutory orders on charges are not maintainable under Section 21 of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act. A detailed judgment is awaited.
The Special NIA Court, in March 2022, had charged the accused for offences under UAPA, stating that they were collectively involved in secessionist activities and closely linked with terrorist organisations, allegedly supported and funded by the Pakistani establishment.
The same case had also seen charges framed against Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed, Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin, and JKLF founder Yasin Malik. While Saeed and Salahuddin remain in Pakistan, Malik pleaded guilty and was awarded life imprisonment. The NIA’s appeal seeking the death penalty for Malik is pending before the Delhi High Court.
In a common judgment, the court also dismissed appeals filed by several other individuals in different terror cases, including Javed Ali, Alemla Jamir, Masasong Ao, Abdur Rehman, Md Waqar Lone, Rouf Ahmad Bhat, Mateen Ahmad Bhat, and others.
The proceedings saw representation from Senior Advocates Nitya Ramakrishnan, Tanveer Ahmed Mir, Sidharth Luthra, Gautam Narayan, and a large team of legal counsels representing both the appellants and the NIA.
The High Court’s decision reinforces the maintainability of the trial court’s framing of charges and allows the ongoing terror funding cases in Jammu and Kashmir to proceed without interruption.