The Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to respond to a plea by Kashmiri separatist leader Nayeem Khan challenging the framing of charges against him in an alleged terror funding case.
A Bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Talwant Singh posted the case filed by the Hurriyat Conference leader for further hearing on August 3.
Last year, a trial court here had framed charges against Mr. Khan and others in a case related to alleged terrorist and secessionist activities that disturbed the Valley in 2017. Mr. Khan was arrested on July 24, 2017 and is currently in judicial custody.
The trial court had ordered framing of charges against Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed, Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin, Kashmiri separatist leaders, including Yasin Malik, Shabbir Shah, Masarat Alam and others, under various sections of the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and Indian Penal Code, including criminal conspiracy, waging war against the country, and unlawful activities and terrorism, in a case pertaining to secessionist activities that disturbed peace in Jammu and Kashmir.
It had also charged Hafiz Saeed, Md. Yusuf Shah, Aftab Ahmad Shah, Altaf Ahmad Shah, Nayeem Khan, Farooq Ahmad Dar, Md. Akbar Khanday, Raja Mehrajuddin Kalwal, Bashir Ahmad Bhat, Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali, Shabir Ahmad Shah, Masarat Alam, Abdul Rashid Sheikh and Naval Kishore Kapoor in the case.
In May last year, Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Mohammad Yasin Malik pleaded guilty to the charges, including those under the UAPA. He was later convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.
According to the NIA, various terrorist organisations such as the LeT, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, JKLF, Jaish-e-Mohammed, among others, with the support of the ISI of Pakistan, perpetrated violence in the Valley by attacking civilians and security forces.
Published - May 03, 2023 10:15 pm IST
