Delhi High Court okays Yasin Malik’s virtual production in terror case

PTI

New Delhi, August 4

The Delhi High Court (HC) on Friday directed that separatist leader Yasin Malik be virtually produced before it from jail in connection with the NIA’s plea seeking death penalty for him in a terror funding case.

NIA seeks death penalty for JKLF chairman

• A trial court last year awarded life term to Yasin Malik for terror funding. The NIA has sought death penalty for him.
• The NIA says a terrorist can’t be awarded life term only because he pleads guilty and chooses not to go through trial.

Allowing an application of the jail superintendent citing security concerns, a Bench headed by Justice Siddharth Mridul said the JKLF chief need not be produced in person and modified an earlier order seeking his physical presence.

The HC had on May 29 issued warrants for production of Malik, who is presently serving a life term in the case in Tihar jail, on August 9 when NIA’s plea for enhancement of sentence is listed for hearing. The Delhi government’s standing counsel informed the court there was an order by the President directing that Malik cannot be moved from the Tihar jail. The SC also expressed its displeasure when he recently appeared before it in person, he added.

In the application, the jail authorities said Malik was a very high risk prisoner.

Recently, the jailed separatist leader arrived in the Supreme Court in connection with a kidnapping case against him, prompting the Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta to flag the “serious security lapse” to the Union Home Secretary.

Malik appeared before the top court bench on July 21 for the CBI’s appeal against a September 20, 2022 order of a trial court in Jammu in the 1989 kidnapping of Rubaiya Sayeed, the daughter of then Union Home Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. Later that week, the Department of Delhi Prisons suspended four officials over Malik’s physical appearance. On May 24, 2022, a trial court here had awarded life imprisonment to Malik after holding him guilty for various offences.

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