IIOJK HC reopens UAPA case against Kashmiri men for Anti-India speeches
Srinagar: The High Court of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir has reversed the discharge of two Kashmiri men accused of “propagating that Jammu and Kashmir is an occupied territory”.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the court, while calling the trial court’s order “palpably wrong” and “perverse”, restored charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against them.
A division bench comprising Justice Sanjay Parihar and Justice Sanjeev Kumar ruled that the trial court had grossly misapplied legal standards when it discharged Ameer Hamza Shah and Rayees Ahmad Mir, both residents of Bandipora district, from prosecution under Section 13 of the UAPA.
While setting aside the trial court’s order, it said,”The discharge of the respondents has resulted in grave miscarriage of justice, and by way of an erroneous order, respondents have been discharged. The court was required to evaluate the material placed before it only for the purpose of charge/discharge but not to sift the evidence in its totality.”
The trial court had relied on the Supreme Court’s 1995 ruling in Balwant Singh vs State of Punjab, where the top court had held that the mere raising of slogans like “Khalistan Zindabad” did not amount to sedition or incitement as no public disorder had followed.
The High Court, however, said that the facts in the present case were “clearly distinguishable.” “Reliance by the trial court…was uncalled for…,” the judges said.
