Delhi HC seeks NIA stand on bail plea of Kashmiri separatist leader Shabir Shah in terror funding case

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday sought the stand of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on a plea by Kashmiri separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shah seeking bail in a terror funding case.

A bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Anish Dayal issued notice to the NIA on an appeal filed by the accused against a trial court order refusing to grant him bail.

It allowed time to the agency to place on record the relevant documents Senior advocate Colin Golsalves sought bail on behalf of the appellant on the ground that "it was a no material case".

In his appeal assailing the trial court order rejecting his bail application, the appellant said he has been in custody for four years and the trial would take a long time to conclude.

"The impugned order of the Learned Additional Sessions Judge is contrary to law weight of evidence and probabilities of the case.

The appellant has been languishing in jail in the present case for four years, with over 400 witnesses to be examined and only 15 witnesses having been examined till date in over four years," the appeal said.

The counsel for the NIA said he would file the relevant material before the bench.  In 2017, the NIA had registered a case against 12 persons for alleged conspiracy to raise and collect funds for causing disruption by way of pelting stones, damaging public property and conspiring to wage war against the government of India.

Shah was arrested in the matter on June 4, 2019.  In March 2022, the trial court framed charges against the appellant under Sections 120B, 121, 121A IPC, 13 UAPA read with 120B IPC, 15 UAPA r/w 120B IPC, and Sections 17, 18, 20 UAPA for allegedly conspiracy to raise and collect funds for causing disruption and conspiring to wage war against the government of India.

It had rejected the appellant's bail plea on July 7.  The matter would be heard next on September 12.