Fresh warrant issued for Yasin Malik's physical appearance in court

Our Correspondent

Jammu, November 23

A special court in Jammu on Wednesday issued a fresh production warrant for physical appearance of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) leader Yasin Malik in the case pertaining to the killing of four Indian Air Force (IAF) officials by terrorists in Kashmir in 1990.

Advocate Monika Kohli, representing the CBI, informed mediapersons outside the court that the fresh production warrant was issued to the Tihar Jail authorities after Yasin Malik refused to cross-examine the eye-witnesses virtually. Malik’s court appearance today was ensured through videoconference from the Tihar Jail while the other accused were present physically in the court.

Malik has been insisting on his physical appearance for months. On September 20, a TADA court had issued a production warrant for the separatist leader, lodged in Delhi’s Tihar Jail, but he couldn’t be brought to Jammu for hearing in October.

“The next date of hearing is December 22. Malik has refused to cross-examine the witnesses even this time due to which the court issued his production warrant. The CBI had challenged the warrant in the Supreme Court even last time,” said Kohli.

She said Malik was not brought to Jammu from Delhi as per the directions of the Ministry of Home Affairs and a letter regarding it was submitted by the Tihar Jail authorities to the special court in Jammu.

Asked if this would delay the proceedings, Kohli said the lawyers of other accused were cross-examining the witnesses and there seemed to be no reason for any delay.

Malik has informed the court that he wants to cross-examine the prosecution witnesses in two cases, including one involving the abduction of Rubaiya Sayeed in 1989. The hearing in Rubaiya abduction case will be held on Thursday. The special TADA court has already framed charges separately against the JKLF chief and several others in the two cases.

The superintendent of the Tihar Jail had informed the court during the last hearing that Yasin Malik, convicted in a terror-funding case, was serving lifetime imprisonment and there was a pending plea for conversion of his punishment into death sentence due to which he couldn’t be moved to Jammu from Delhi.

The National Investigation Agency had arrested Malik in April 2019 in connection with the terror-funding case.

Hearing on Dec 22

The next hearing will be conducted on December 22. Malik has been insisting on his physical appearance as he himself wants to cross examine the witnesses.

‘Involvement’ in two high-profile cases

• Yasin Malik has been accused of abducting Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of the then Union Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, in 1989 for successfully securing the release of five terrorists.
• Malik is among the accused ‘behind the killing of 4 IAF men’ in 1990.

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