Jammu, Oct 7 A special NIA court here has rejected the bail application of separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shah in connection with a case arising from a 1996 FIR relating to violence, stone-pelting and firing on police personnel during a funeral procession in Srinagar.
While rejecting the bail plea, Special Judge Prem Sagar held that the application "needs no consideration at this stage", observing that there was a "well-founded apprehension" that if released, Shah was likely to continue such activities to the detriment of national security and public order.
Shah (73) was arrested in April by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with the three-decade-old terror case related to mob violence and firing on policemen during a militant's funeral at Naaz crossing in Srinagar. His arrest came shortly after he was released on bail after nearly seven years of imprisonment in other NIA cases including one related to terror funding.
Hearing the bail plea on Tuesday, the NIA court said it has already declared four persons as protected witnesses in the case and charges are yet to be framed against the accused.
"Court is conscious of the fact that the only offence under the UAPA that is invoked against the applicant/accused is Section 13 only, which falls within Chapter III of the Act which does not attract the rigours of its Section 43-D(5) and the embargo on bail contained in Section 43-D(5) applies, by its express terms, only to offences 'punishable under Chapters IV and VI' of the Act but every case under UAPA has serious consequences and to be examined viz a viz nature of allegations, centrality of the role, protected witnesses, risk of intimidation, possibility of reactivation of networks etc," the judge said in his 23-page order.
The order said any enlargement of the applicant on bail at this stage carries a reasonable apprehension of prejudice to the fair conduct of the trial and may adversely affect the confidence and security of the protected witnesses.
On the plea of parity, the court ruled that Shah could not claim bail merely because some co-accused had been released.
It distinguished their cases, noting that they had been granted bail after the investigation concerning them was over and the investigating officer no longer required their custody.
The NIA had opposed the bail, arguing that Shah was allegedly a "principal leader of the procession", with the prosecution attributing to him an active role in allegedly raising provocative slogans and delivering inflammatory speeches before violence erupted.
The agency also cited the presence of protected witnesses and apprehension of their intimidation.
The NIA took over the investigation of the 1996 case in April on the directions of the Ministry of Home Affairs and subsequently filed a charge sheet before the NIA Special Court in Jammu on July 10.
Shah along with other separatist leaders including Shakeel Ahmad Bakshi and Javid Ahmad Mir have been named in the charge sheet as accused in the case. Separatist leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Abdul Gani Lone and Mohammad Yaqoob Wakeel were also named as accused, but proceedings against them abated following their death.
Shah's counsel argued that the sole basis for rejection of his earlier bail plea as "premature" had ceased to exist, as the NIA had subsequently filed its charge sheet on July 10, and the investigation qua the applicant stood concluded.
Counsel submitted that the earlier bail plea had not been rejected on merits and that, with the chargesheet now on record, there was no impediment to considering the plea on its merits.
The defence also questioned the prosecution case, arguing that there was no allegation that Shah carried or used a weapon or fired any shot, with the firing attributed to unidentified armed persons.
The defence also relied on Shah's prolonged incarceration, advanced age and the Supreme Court's March order granting him bail in another NIA case, arguing that continued detention would offend his right to speedy trial under Article 21.
