The High Court of Delhi on Tuesday adjourned the bail petition of Kashmiri Separatist leader Shabir Ahmed Shah, who was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in 2017 in connection with a terror funding case, to September 22.
Appearing for Shah, Senior Advocate Colin Gonsalves contended that the 74-year-old has already spent more than six years behind the bars and that he should be granted bail on the basis of the 2021 Supreme Court verdict in the Union of India vs KA Najeeb case.
He pointed out that Shah’s name did not figure in the main charge sheet and not even in the first supplementary charge sheet, but in the second charge sheet.
Asserting that there was no material at all against Shah, the Senior Counsel said that out of 400 witnesses, 15 had been examined.
The High Court then asked Special Public Prosecutor Akshai Malik Court, appearing for NIA, about the documents he was directed to place on record today.
The NIA Counsel sought additional time to file a compilation report of all the documents they were relying on in the case.
Stating that this was a question of personal liberty, the High Court granted one week to NIA to file certain ‘relevant documents’ on record and listed the matter for further hearing on September 22.
Earlier on August 7, the High Court had issued notice to NIA on an appeal filed by Shah against a trial court order refusing to grant him bail.
The Bench of Justice Siddharth Mridul and Justice Anish Dayal issued notice to NIA on an appeal filed by the accused against a trial court order refusing to grant him bail.
In 2017, 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.