SHABIR AHMED SHAH Vs. NATIONAL INVESTIGATION AGENCY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present Criminal Appeal has been filed by the Appellant under Sec. 21 of the National Investigation Agency ('NIA') Act, 2008 to assail the Order dtd. 7/7/2023 passed by the learned Additional Session Judge ' 03 (New Delhi), Patiala House Courts, New Delhi (hereinafter referred to as, 'Trial Court') in NIA case bearing RC No. 10/2017/NIA/DLI titled NIA v. Hafiz Saeed and Ors., whereby the Bail application of the Appellant was dismissed.

(2.) The present case emanates from the registration of the NIA case bearing no. RC-10/2017/NIA/DLI for offences under Ss. 120B, 121 and 121A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC), and Ss. 13, 16, 17, 18, 20, 38, 39 and 40 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 [UA(P) Act], by the NIA, pursuant to the Order No. 11011/2017-IS-IV issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs on 30/5/2017. The Prosecution's case is premised on an alleged Conspiracy hatched among several accused persons who were purportedly engaged in secessionist activities in the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir ('J&K') through various terrorist activities, such as organization of violent protests, instigating the general public to commit violence, pelting of stones at the Security Forces, burning of Schools, damaging public property, etc and waging war against the Union of India. Their ultimate aim and objective was to seek the secession of the J&K from the Union of India, all in the garb of 'Freedom".

(3.) The Prosecution's case is that the NIA launched an investigation and tried to unfold the said Conspiracy, during which it was allegedly found that the accused persons were members of various terrorist organizations and unlawful associations, such as Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM), Jammu Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party (JKDFP), Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), Jaish-e- Mohammad (JoM) etc., and are members of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC). Their operations were allegedly funded through a regular influx of large sums of money obtained by them through domestic and international unlawful channels, including hawala networks, etc. This funding, it is alleged, sustained the continued perpetration of violence in the valley, despite the heavy deployment of the Security Forces.