HC allows MLA Waheed Para to travel outside J&K

PDP leader and Pulwama MLA Waheed Para has been permitted by the J&K and Ladakh High Court to travel outside the Union Territory, modifying a key bail condition imposed earlier.

Para was first arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on November 25, 2020, a day after filing his nomination papers for the District Development Council elections from Pulwama. Although he was granted bail by an NIA court in January 2021, he was immediately re-arrested by the Counter Intelligence (Kashmir) unit of the J&K Police on similar charges.

In 2022, the High Court granted him bail in the alleged terror-funding case, observing that the evidence against him was “sketchy.” The order set aside the trial court’s decision and granted him bail against a surety of Rs 1 lakh. Among the conditions imposed was the surrender of his passport and a restriction preventing him from leaving J&K without the permission of the trial court.

In its latest order dated November 28, the bench noted the submissions of Para’s counsel, Shariq J Reyaz, who argued that Para “is a Member of Legislative Assembly and has to move out of the Union Territory time and again in connection with his official and other duties.” He added that the condition was causing “a lot of hardship and inconvenience” as Para had to seek permission every time he travelled.

The court observed: “In view of the submissions made by the learned counsel for the applicant, we are of the considered opinion that it would be in the interest of justice to modify the condition… the petitioner shall be entitled to leave the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and move within the country after intimating his location and purpose of visit to the learned trial Court.”

Reacting to the order, Para wrote on X that after five years of a “painful legal battle,” the High Court has “allowed me to travel outside Jammu & Kashmir.”

“In moments when my own family needed me, in grief, loss, all I could do was wait & feel the helplessness, which leaves a mark that never truly fades. You begin to understand the meaning of freedom only when it is taken from you & you feel the suffering of others more deeply when you’ve carried that weight yourself,” he said.

He added that over the years, “I’ve met families living under similar restraints and their pain has stayed with me every single day and today I’m reminded of how many people still live with silent burdens.”