New Delhi, 14 October (H.S.): The Delhi High Court has sought a report from prison authorities after separatist leader Yasin Malik failed to appear before the court in a terror funding case. A bench headed by Justice Navin Chawla observed that Malik was supposed to appear through video conferencing but did not do so. The bench directed the concerned prison superintendent to submit a report explaining the circumstances.

During an earlier hearing on April 22, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) told the court that Malik had been in contact with senior Pakistani leaders, including the country’s Prime Minister and President. The agency alleged that he had used these contacts to promote separatist activities in Jammu and Kashmir.

In its response affidavit, the NIA further alleged that Malik had close links with banned terrorist organisations and had facilitated terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir through illegal means, including hawala transactions.

On May 25, 2022, a special court at Patiala House in New Delhi sentenced Malik to life imprisonment in the case. The court imposed a life sentence and a fine of Rs 10 lakh under Section 17 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). It also awarded him 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10,000 under Section 18, 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10,000 under Section 20, and five years’ imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5,000 under Sections 38 and 39 of the Act.

The court also sentenced Malik to 10 years’ imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 under Section 120B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which deals with criminal conspiracy. Under Section 121A of the IPC, he was awarded another 10-year prison term and a fine of Rs 10,000.

The court directed that all the sentences would run concurrently. Consequently, the life sentence remained the principal punishment, along with the applicable fine of Rs 10 lakh.

Malik pleaded guilty before the Patiala House Court on May 10, 2022.

Earlier, on March 16, 2022, the court had ordered the framing of charges against several accused in the case, including Hafiz Saeed, Syed Salahuddin, Yasin Malik, Shabir Shah, Masarat Alam, Rashid Engineer, Zahoor Ahmad Watali, Bitta Karate, Aftab Ahmad Shah, Avtar Ahmad Shah, Nayeem Khan and Bashir Ahmad Bhat, also known as Peer Saifullah, among others.

According to the NIA, terrorist organisations, including Lashkar-e-Taiba, Hizbul Mujahideen, the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) and Jaish-e-Mohammed, allegedly carried out attacks and acts of violence against civilians and security personnel in Jammu and Kashmir with the support of Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

The agency has also stated that the All Parties Hurriyat Conference was formed in 1993 to pursue separatist activities in the region.

According to the NIA, Hafiz Saeed, in collaboration with Hurriyat Conference leaders, allegedly facilitated the transfer of funds through hawala transactions and other channels to support terrorist activities. The agency alleged that the money was used to foment unrest in the Kashmir Valley, attack security personnel, burn schools and damage public property.

Following the receipt of information by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, the NIA registered a case under Sections 120B, 121 and 121A of the IPC and Sections 13, 16, 17, 18, 20, 38, 39 and 40 of the UAPA.

The High Court’s latest direction seeks clarification from the prison authorities regarding Malik’s failure to appear through video conferencing as scheduled.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar