UAPA | Delhi High Court Grants Bail To Activist Khurram Parvez In Alleged Terror Funding Case

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday granted bail to Kashmiri human rights activist Khurram Parvez in an alleged terror funding case registered by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) under UAPA. A division bench comprising Justice Navin Chawla and Justice Ravinder Dudeja allowed Parvez's appeal challenging a trial court order passed on December 17, 2024, denying him bail.The Court said that his prolonged incarceration of nearly four-and-a-half years, the slow progress of trial and his right to personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution of India warranted his release on bail.The Court noted that Parvez has remained in custody since November 22, 2021 and that the case is presently at the stage of arguments on charge. It also recorded that the prosecution proposes to examine 197 witnesses, making an early conclusion of trial unlikely.“The appellant's rights under Article 21 of the Constitution of India need to be balanced and may even trump the restriction imposed under Section 43D(5) of the UAPA,” the Court observed.The bench conducted a prima facie assessment of the allegations against Parvez and noted that the prosecution case substantially relied upon the statement of co-accused Muneer Ahmad Kataria, who has since turned approver. The Court observed that his testimony is yet to be tested during trial.While acknowledging the seriousness of the allegations, the bench clarified that it was not expressing any opinion on the merits of the case. It held that the allegations and defence would ultimately be tested during trial.Parvez was arrested in the case on November 22, 2021 from Srinagar. He was remanded to judicial custody on February 25, 2022, following series of police custody remands. As on December 19, 2024- filing of the appeal, Parvez had remained in custody for a total period of roughly 3 years and 1 month. The NIA alleged that a network linked to the banned terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) recruited Over Ground Workers (OGWs), gathered intelligence on security installations and facilitated terror funding. Parvez was arrested during the investigation, although he was not named in the original FIR. According to the charge sheet, the allegations against him were that he recruited OGWs for LeT, collected information regarding the movement and structure of the Army, had links with Pakistan-based terrorist organisations, and instigated protests following the killing of Burhan Wani in 2016. The appeal argued that the prosecution's case against Parvez was unsupported by evidence and that he is a “factual stranger” to the larger conspiracy alleged by the NIA.It was Parvez's case that there was n digital evidence showing his contact with members of any proscribed terrorist organisation and that no call detail records were collected regarding the alleged meeting between him and co-accused Muneer Ahmad Kataria.It was argued that there was no evidence that Parvez passed sensitive military information to any terrorist operative and that there was no allegation linking him to any alleged terror-funding money trail.Counsel for Appellant: Senior Advocate Tanveer Ahmed Mir, along with Ms. Swati Khanna, Ms. Raminder Kaur, Mr. Md. Imran Ahmad, Mr. Shahzad Khan, Mr. Kartik Venu AdvsCounsel for NIA: Mr. Rahul Tyagi, SPP, Ms. Priya Rai, Mr. Shubham Goyal, Mr. Jatin Khatri, Mr. Amit Rohila, AdvsTitle: KHURAM PARVEZ v. NIAclick here to read order

UAPA | Delhi High Court Grants Bail To Activist Khurram Parvez In Alleged Terror Funding Case

Nupur Thapliyal

This is a premium content
Available exclusively to
Our subscribers

INR 1099+GST

Tags

Nupur Thapliyal

UAPA | Delhi High Court Grants Bail To Activist Khurram Parvez In Alleged Terror Funding Case

Nupur Thapliyal

This is a premium content Available exclusively to Our subscribers

INR 1099+GST

Tags

Nupur Thapliyal

This is a premium content
Available exclusively to
Our subscribers