The Supreme Court granted bail to Kashmiri separatist leader Shabir Ahmed Shah on Wednesday in a high-profile terror funding case registered by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), citing prolonged detention and unexplained trial delays. A bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta delivered the verdict after hearing arguments from senior advocate Colin Gonsalves for Shah and Siddharth Luthra for the NIA, overturning prior rejections by a special NIA court in July 2023 and the Delhi High Court.
Shah, chairman of the banned Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party, has been in custody since 2019 on allegations of conspiring to channel funds for fomenting unrest in the Kashmir Valley and waging war against India. His plea emphasised his absence from the main and first supplementary chargesheets, the impossibility of a speedy trial involving 400 prosecution witnesses, and over six years of incarceration without significant progress. The NIA countered with claims of incriminating evidence, including Shah's role in a broader separatist network, though the court questioned reliance on decades-old speeches from the 1990s during earlier hearings.
The decision marks a rare judicial intervention in a case tied to the 2017 NIA crackdown on terror financing post the Burhan Wani encounter, where Shah was among several Hurriyat leaders arrested. Previous bail denials had cited the gravity of charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), but the apex court prioritised the right to a timely trial, noting no contemporary material sufficiently justified extended pre-trial detention.
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This ruling comes amid heightened scrutiny of NIA probes in Jammu and Kashmir, especially after Article 370's abrogation, with critics alleging prolonged detentions undermine due process. Shah's release, subject to conditions like reporting requirements, could embolden similar pleas from co-accused figures in parallel cases.
Legal experts view the order as reinforcing statutory bail under Section 436A of the CrPC for undertrials serving half the maximum sentence, a principle applied cautiously in national security matters. The NIA may challenge the bail through review or appeal, but procedural hurdles now shift focus back to expediting the trial.
The development unfolds against ongoing tensions in Kashmir, where terror funding remains a flashpoint. Shah's supporters hailed it as justice delayed but delivered, while security analysts warn of potential resurgence in separatist rhetoric, underscoring the delicate balance between liberty and counter-terrorism imperatives.
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