NIA court issues non-bailable warrant against Hizbul Mujahideen chief

An NIA special court in Jammu and Kashmir's Budgam district on Saturday issued a non-bailable warrant against Pakistan-based Hizbul Mujahideen chief Mohammad Yousuf Shah alias Syed Salah-ud-din, directing the police to arrest him.

The Court of Special Judge designated under the National Investigation Agency (NIA) Act issued the direction after hearing a case registered under various provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), and Section 506 of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC) -- specific criminal law for Jammu and Kashmir until 2019, analogous to the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The court said the investigating officer has collected sufficient evidence which prima facie implicates Shah in various offences under sections 13, 18, 20, and 39 of the UAPA, pertaining to threat to sovereignty, terror conspiracy, and involvement in terrorist activities.

The accused has been evading arrest, the court held, thus issuing a non-bailable warrant against Shah and directing the Jammu and Kashmir Police to arrest him in connection with the FIR.

Section 73 CrPC empowers the magistrate to issue a warrant against any person accused of non-bailable offence and evading arrest, it said.

Shah fled to Pakistan in 1993 and was designated as a terrorist by the government in 2020. He is currently operating from Pakistan, and is also the chief of United Jihad Council (UJC), a conglomerate of several terror outfits.

The NIA attached properties linked to Shah and his two sons in 2023. His sons were sacked from government services in 2021 after their arrest in a terror funding case.