HC rejects businessman's plea in terror funding case

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed the plea of UAE-based businessman Naval Kishore Kapoor challenging consideration of the supplementary chargesheet filed against him in a terror funding case in the Kashmir Valley allegedly involving Pakistan-based terrorist leaders Hafiz Saeed, Syed Salahuddin, seven Kashmiri separatist leaders, among others.

A bench of Justices Manmohan and Sangita Dhingra Sehgal dismissed Kapoor's plea challenging the trial court order taking cognisance of the chargesheet filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) against him in the terror funding case.

Kapoor told the court that the trial court had wrongly taken cognisance of the chargesheet as there has been no offence made out against him.

Kapoor also said the allegation that he was remitting foreign money into India through the Kashmiri businessman Zahood Ahmad Shah Watali is vague and without any supporting document.

The court, however, observed that there was sufficient material available on record which prima facie points towards the involvement of the Kapoor along with accused and Kashmiri businessman Watali. Both of them aided and abetted the flow of funds from fake and bogus companies floated in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and channelised these to secessionists and separatists in the Kashmir Valley.

"The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on the basis of fresh material collected, was able to unearth the fresh cause of action against the appellant/Naval Kishore Kapoor and filed the supplementary chargesheet against him," the court said.

"...we are of the considered view that the arguments advanced on behalf of the appellant that the trial court erroneously and wrongly took cognisance against the appellant because no fresh material was produced by the investigating agency in the supplementary chargesheet implicating the appellant in the alleged conspiracy, is without force." it added.

In January 2018, the NIA chargesheeted Ahmad Shah and Watali along with Pakistan-based terrorist leaders Hafiz Saeed, Syed Salahuddin, seven Kashmiri separatist leaders and others in a case of terror funding in the Kashmir Valley.

They were chargesheeted under stringent anti-terror laws alleging that they had hatched a conspiracy with Saeed and Salahuddin to wage war against India for the secession of Jammu and Kashmir.

The separatists arrested on July 24, 2017, are - Aftab Hilali Shah alias Shahid-ul-Islam, Ayaz Akbar Khandey, Farooq Ahmad Dar alias Bitta Karate, Nayeem Khan, Altaf Ahmad Shah, Raja Mehrajuddin Kalwal and Bashir Ahmad Bhat alias Peer Saifullah.

Watali was arrested on August 17, 2017, while Kapoor was arrested in July 2018.

On January 22, the NIA filed a supplementary chargesheet naming Kapoor as accused in the case. The trial court has taken cognisance of the chargesheet on February 6.

--IANS

ak/bc