Terror funding case: HC rejects bail plea of separatist leader Shabir Shah

The Delhi High Court on Thursday dismissed a plea by Kashmiri separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shah seeking bail in a terror funding case.

A bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Shalinder Kaur pronounced the verdict while rejecting Shah's appeal challenging a trial court's July 7, 2023 order refusing to grant him bail.

"The present appeal is dismissed," the bench said.

The detailed order is awaited.

The high court in August 2023 sought response of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Shah's appeal.

Shah's counsel has sought bail on behalf of the appellant on the grounds that "it was a no material case".

In his 2023 appeal assailing the trial court order rejecting his bail application, the appellant said he has been in custody for four years and the trial would take a long time to conclude.

"The impugned order of the additional sessions judge is contrary to law weight of evidence and probabilities of the case. The appellant has been languishing in jail in the present case for four years, with over 400 witnesses to be examined and only 15 witnesses having been examined till date in over 4 years," the appeal said.

In 2017, NIA had registered a case against 12 persons for allegations of conspiracy for raising and collecting funds for causing disruption by way of pelting stones, damaging public property and conspiring to wage war against the government of India.

Shah was arrested in the case on June 4, 2019.

In March 2022, the trial court framed charges against the appellant for allegedly conspiring to raise and collect funds for causing disruption and conspiring to wage war against the government of India.