The Delhi High Court on Tuesday refused to grant interim relief to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) by staying the bail recently granted to Kashmiri human rights activist Khurram Parvez and journalist Irfan Mehraj in the alleged terror-funding case registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The Court, however, issued notice on the NIA’s appeals challenging the bail order and sought responses from the accused.
The impugned order was passed on July 18 by Principal District and Sessions Judge Pitamber Dutt, who held that the prolonged incarceration of the accused, coupled with the slow progress of the trial, justified the grant of bail notwithstanding the restrictions contained in Section 43D(5) of the UAPA. Relying on constitutional principles under Article 21, the trial court observed that the right to a speedy trial cannot be defeated by keeping an accused in custody for an indefinite period while the trial remains nowhere near conclusion.
The prosecution case stems from an NIA FIR registered in October 2020 alleging that certain NGOs, trusts and societies operating in Jammu & Kashmir had channelled funds under the guise of charitable and welfare activities to support unlawful and terrorist activities. Parvez, former coordinator of the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), and Mehraj, who worked as a researcher with the organisation, are among the accused in the case.
Hearing the NIA’s appeals, a Division Bench of Justice Prathiba M. Singh and Justice Vikas Mahajan issued notice but did not suspend the operation of the trial court’s bail order at this stage. The Court directed the respondents to file their replies and posted the matter for further consideration.
Although the trial court has granted bail, the two accused have not yet secured their release, as the NIA’s challenge is now pending before the High Court.