Indian top court grants bail to Kashmiri detained under UAPA since 2021
New Delhi: The Indian Supreme Court has granted bail to a Kashmiri, Suhail Ahmad Thokar, who had been detained since 2021under the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, (UAPA) in a fabricated case.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the relief was granted by a three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Thokar’s petition challenging the Delhi High Court’s September 2023 order denying him bail in the case.
Suhail Ahmad Thokar was arrested under the UAPA after Indian agencies alleged that he had conspired with banned outfits to recruit youth for pro-freedom and anti-India activities following the illegal abrogation of IIOJK’s special status in August 2019.
The Bench directed Thokar be released on bail upon furnishing bail bonds to the satisfaction of the special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Delhi.
Thokar was arrested on October 20, 2021, in a case being investigated by India’s National Investigation Agency over his alleged links with pro-freedom groups.
While granting him bail, India’s top court took into account the prolonged period of his detention and the likelihood that the trial would take considerable time to conclude.
Counsel representing Thokar argued that there was no substantial evidence linking him to any criminal conspiracy and that nothing incriminating had been recovered from his possession.
His legal team had earlier submitted before the Delhi High Court that there was a conspicuous absence of material evidence implicating him in any unlawful activities or conspiracy, maintaining that the charges against him lacked credible factual basis.
