Delhi HC seeks Yasin Malik's reply on NIA appeal for death penalty in terror funding case

The Delhi High Court on Monday directed Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik to file his response to the National Investigation Agency’s appeal seeking enhancement of his life sentence to the death penalty in a 2017 terror funding case.

A division bench of Justice Vivek Chaudhary and Justice Shalinder Kaur granted Malik four weeks to respond and listed the matter for further hearing on November 10.

Special counsel for the NIA, Advocate Akshai Malik, drew the court’s attention to its earlier order dated August 9, 2024, in which Malik had stated that he intended to defend the case himself. The order had also specified that Malik would attend proceedings through video conferencing rather than in person, owing to security concerns.

However, Malik did not appear virtually during Monday’s hearing. The Bench reiterated its earlier direction, making it clear that Malik must be present via video link on the next date of hearing.

The Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chief (JKLF) was sentenced to life imprisonment by a trial court in May 2022 after pleading guilty to charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The trial court had rejected the NIA’s plea for the death penalty, holding that the case did not meet the Supreme Court’s threshold of the “rarest of rare” category.

In its judgment, the court had also dismissed Malik’s claim of following Gandhian non-violence, noting that the evidence and charges pointed to his active involvement in unlawful and violent activities.

Charges in the case were framed in March 2022 against Malik and several others, including Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin, Shabbir Ahmad Shah, Rashid Engineer, Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali, Shahid-ul-Islam, Altaf Ahmad Shah alias Fantoosh, Nayeem Khan, and Farooq Ahmad Dar alias Bitta Karate. Three accused, Kamran Yusuf, Javed Ahmad Bhatt, and Syeda Aasiya Firdous Andrabi, were discharged.