Indian Supreme Court grants bail to Shabir Shah, cites delay in trial
Srinagar: The Indian Supreme Court has granted bail to senior Kashmiri Hurriyat leader Shabbir Ahmed Shah in a fake funding case, admitting that the prolonged delay in the trial could not be justified.
According to Kashmir Media Service, a bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta ordered the release of Shabbir Ahmed Shah after hearing arguments from Senior Advocate Colin Gonsalves, representing Shah, and Senior Advocate Siddharth Luthra, appearing for the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Shabbir Ahmed Shah was arrested by Indian authorities in 2017 and then a charge sheet filed by the NIA in October 2019 alleging that he was involved in raising funds and supporting the freedom movement in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
During the hearing, Shah’s counsel argued that his name did not appear in the main and first supplementary charge sheets filed by the NIA and that he had been kept in prolonged detention without sufficient material evidence against him. The counsel also pointed out that the trial was unlikely to conclude soon as the prosecution had listed around 400 witnesses.
The Supreme Court observed that the delay in the trial proceedings could not be explained and granted bail to Shah after nearly seven years of incarceration.
Earlier, a special NIA court had rejected his bail plea in July 2023, and the Delhi High Court had also dismissed his appeal against that decision.
