New Delhi, June 12: The Delhi High Court on Thursday dismissed the bail plea of Kashmiri separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shah in a terror funding case.
A bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Shalinder Kaur rejected Shah’s appeal against a lower court’s decision dated July 7, 2023, which had earlier denied him bail.
“The appeal is dismissed,” the bench said. A detailed order will be issued later.
Earlier in August 2023, the High Court had asked the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to respond to Shah’s bail appeal.
Shah’s lawyer argued that there was no solid evidence against him and that he should be granted bail. The appeal also mentioned that Shah has been in jail for the past four years and that the trial is moving very slowly. Out of more than 400 witnesses, only 15 have been examined in four years.
The appeal said the lower court’s order was unfair and against the evidence presented.
The NIA had registered the case in 2017 against 12 people, including Shah, for allegedly collecting money to fund stone-pelting, damaging public property, and planning to wage war against the Government of India.
Shabir Shah was arrested on June 4, 2019. In March 2022, charges were framed against him for conspiring to raise funds and create unrest. (PTI)