The Supreme Court, today, granted bail to Shabir Ahmed Shah in terror funding case.
A bail plea was filed by Shabir Ahmad Shah, who is currently booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for allegedly conspiring to secede Jammu & Kashmir from India.
The Bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta heard the matter at length and granted him bail. Senior Advocate Colin Gonsalves appeared for Shah, whereas Senior Advocate Siddharth Luthra appeared for NIA.
Today, Gonsalves submitted his rejoinder arguments. He argued that the state has been deliberately evasive regarding the specifics of Shah’s prolonged detention. Gonsalves pointed out that the NIA’s counter-affidavit notably omitted details of Shah’s extensive detention periods. He argued that the defense had limited access to detention orders, which hindered their ability to present a full picture of the “40-year” custody claim.
Supreme Court he emphasized that the sluggish pace of the trial—where only 34 out of 248 witnesses have been examined over several years—is not attributable to Shah. He reiterated that such a delay, under UAPA jurisprudence, creates a strong ground for bail. The Bench questioned whether Section 207 of the CrPC (supply of copies of statements and documents to the accused) had been fully complied with before the court moved to Section 227 (discharge/framing of charges).
Justice Mehta specifically asked when the inspection of documents was supposed to be completed, suggesting that if the prosecution had not provided all necessary materials to the defense, the delay could not be blamed on the accused. Accordingly, the Court granted bail to Shah.
Previously, on the last date of hearing, Justice Sandeep Mehta said to Senior Advocate Luthra, “Prima Facie, we are saying, there is no sympathy for people like this, who are involved in such activities. But you have to show those details.” Justice Mehta asked Luthra, “Do you have any CDRs of this case?”
Luthra replied, “No CDR, for this case.” Justice Nath asked, “Tell me name of the Prime Ministers he was with.” While seeing the images of Shah with the ministers and politicians, the Court said, “Vishwanath Pratap Singh, I.K. Gujral, Krishna Chandra Pant, Chandra Shekhar, George Bush, Prem Shankar Jha, and Ram Jethmalani. You are also there Mr. Luthra.” Senior Advocate Colin Gonsalves, representing Shah, argued that his client has spent a cumulative 40 years in and out of detention, with the current stint lasting over six years.
