Delhi High Court Rejects Separatist Leader Shabir Ahmed Shah’s Bail Plea In Alleged Terror Funding Case

The Delhi High Court on Thursday (June 12) dismissed an appeal moved by Kashmiri Separatist Leader Shabir Ahmed Shah challenging an NIA court’s order denying bail in an alleged case of terror funding.

A division bench of Justice Navin Chawla and Justice Shalinder Kaur while pronouncing the order said:

“The present appeal is dismissed“.

A detail copy of the order is awaited.

Shah had approached the High Court challenging a July 7, 2023 order passed by the special NIA court rejecting his bail plea.

Previously Senior Advocate Colin Gonsalves who had appeared for Shah submitted that it is a “no material case” and that chargesheet has already been filed by the central probe agency in the matter.

The appeal, filed through Advocates Mugdha and Kamran Khwaja, stated that there is no mention about Shah in the main and first supplementary chargesheet filed by NIA where it has been shown that the offences had allegedly occurred as a result of the conspiracy.

“Therefore, in the absence of any material/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,” the appeal states.

NIA has alleged that various accused persons conspired for raising and collecting funds for causing disruption in the Kashmir valley and to wage war against the government of India. Shah was arrested in June 2019 and he was arrayed as an accused in the second supplementary chargesheet filed by NIA on October 04, 2019.

The allegations against him are that he played a key role in building a separatist movement in Jammu and Kashmir, paying tribute to family of slain terrorists, receiving money through hawala transactions and raising funds through LOC trade used to “fule subversive and militant activities.”

Case Title: Shabir Ahmad Shah v NIA (Crl A 600/2023)