After 7 years, Delhi court acquits two Kashmiris held in fabricated UAPA case
“Futures destroyed, families wrecked”: Mirwaiz denounces years-long detention
Delhi:: After more than seven years in detention, two Kashmiri youth arrested in a fabricated case under the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) have been acquitted by a Delhi court, which noted that the prosecution failed to prove its charges and flagged serious lapses in the investigation.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Additional Sessions Judge Amit Bansal of Patiala House Courts acquitted Jamsheed Zahoor Paul and Parvaiz Rashid, residents of Shopian, who spent 2753 days as undertrial prisoners after being arrested on 06 September 2018. They were 24 and 19 years old at the time of arrest. Charges were framed only in April 2022, and even in 2024, the Delhi High Court had denied them bail, prolonging their illegal detention.
The case originated from a Delhi Police Special Cell opeation, which claimed the accused had pledged allegiance to ISIS and were had travelled to Delhi to procure weapons. Police alleged that the two men were caught near the Jamia Masjid bus stop in possession of two 7.65 mm pistols and ten live cartridges.
The court, however, highlighted multiple inconsistencies and procedural violations. It questioned the authenticity of seizure documents, noted the absence of independent witnesses during the arrest in a public area, and flagged mishandling of electronic evidence, including four mobile phones left unsealed for nearly two months before forensic examination. The prosecution’s claims linking the accused to ISIS operatives were found unsubstantiated.
“The prosecution has failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt,” the court concluded, acquitting both men.
Senior APHC leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq condemned the years-long detention on X, asking, “How many Kashmiri youth must go through this? Picked up, booked under harsh laws, and made to spend years behind bars only for the courts to eventually find nothing against them. Justice demands accountability for the years lost, families wrecked and futures destroyed.”
New Delhi-based civil rights advocacy group, the Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR), which supported the youth, called the acquittal a victory overshadowed by the irreparable damage done. Nadeem Khan, APCR National Secretary, said, “Eight years of their lives are gone. This isn’t just a legal win but a grim reminder of how easily lives are wrecked by fabricated allegations.”
APCR General Secretary Malik Motasim added, “Extraordinary laws like UAPA are being used to bypass the need for actual evidence. Today’s verdict proves why due process cannot be ignored.”
