The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday opposed the bail plea filed by separatist leader Shabir Shah in the Jammu and Kashmir terror funding case.
During the hearing before a Supreme Court bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta raised objections to the way the petition described “India and the Jammu and Kashmir unit” as separate entities.
“This distinction is not acceptable. It should be referred to as India, not as separate units,” Mehta asserted while presenting the NIA’s arguments.
The NIA called Shah’s claim of being imprisoned for 30 years factually incorrect. Mehta told the court that Shah had been in custody for only 51 days in the current case.
Responding to this, senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, representing Shah, countered that his client had spent nearly 39 years behind bars across various cases. “You cannot dismiss that reality. We will prove it during the hearing,” he said.
Defence Cites Health Concerns, NIA Dismisses Claim
Shah’s deteriorating health, Gonsalves argued, constituted a strong ground for bail.
However, Mehta, with a hint of sarcasm, remarked, “Yes, he is ill, that is indeed the problem.” The NIA confirmed to the court that its reply had already been filed, after which the bench granted time to Shah’s counsel to submit a rejoinder. The court scheduled the next hearing for November 14 .
Shah had approached the Supreme Court after the Delhi High Court dismissed his bail plea. He faces 24 cases, including charges of terror funding and money laundering. The NIA arrested him in 2019 for allegedly funnelling money from Pakistan and other countries to fuel unrest in Jammu and Kashmir.
According to the NIA, Shah maintained contact with Hafiz Saeed, the chief of Jamaat-ud-Dawa. Authorities have framed charges in 18 out of the 24 cases against him, kept three pending, and dismissed three.
During the High Court proceedings, Shah’s counsel argued that the prolonged trial warranted bail, noting that the court had examined only 15 out of 400 witnesses so far. However, the NIA insisted that Shah played a ‘key role’ in a grave crime with cross-border implications.
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