The Supreme Court heard arguments on the bail plea of Kashmiri separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shah, who has been booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for allegedly conspiring to secede Jammu and Kashmir from India and terror funding. The matter was heard by a Bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta.

Senior Advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for Shabir Shah, submitted that the prosecution case was built through successive supplementary charge-sheets and that Shah was not named in the main charge-sheet or the first supplementary charge-sheet, but was added only in the second supplementary charge-sheet.

When the Bench asked about the primary allegation against Shah, Sr Adv Gonsalves stated that the accusations related to provocative speeches and terror funding. He pointed out that the last alleged speech attributed to Shah dated back to 1993.

On the terror funding allegation, Gonsalves submitted that the case stemmed from an allegation that one Wani was carrying ₹65 lakhs purportedly meant for Shah. He informed the Court that Wani had been acquitted in the Enforcement Directorate case, and that Shah himself had already been granted bail in the ED matter.

During the hearing, Senior Advocate Siddharth Luthra, appearing for the National Investigation Agency (NIA), sought time to place additional documents on record. Accepting the request, the Court granted two weeks’ time to the NIA and listed the matter for further hearing on February 10 at 2:00 PM, noting that the case remains part-heard.