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Delhi HC nixes NIA plea, upholds bail to J&K terror conspiracy accused

By · Via Times of India · Published by Everything Blog

In short

The National Investigation Agency had appealed the trial court's decision, claiming the accused conspired with banned terrorist entities using local operatives and online platforms to stir unrest. However, the Delhi High Court found the initial bail assessment correctly evaluated whether the claims were prima facie true without prematurely deciding the merits of the evidence. Furthermore, the bench clarified that the subsequent framing of charges against Bhat had no bearing on the agency's challenge. High Court intervention in bail appeals remains narrowly confined to instances of arbitrary or perverse judicial reasoning.

Key points

  • The trial court properly weighed the statutory bail restrictions outlined in the Unlawful…: The trial court properly weighed the statutory bail restrictions outlined in the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
  • Subsequent framing of charges against the accused is irrelevant to evaluating the merits…: Subsequent framing of charges against the accused is irrelevant to evaluating the merits of an agency's bail appeal.
  • Appellate courts will only overturn bail orders if they are proven to be illegal, pervers…: Appellate courts will only overturn bail orders if they are proven to be illegal, perverse, or arbitrary.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

NEW DELHI:

Delhi high court has dismissed NIA's appeal against a trial court order granting bail to an alleged over ground worker in J&K, Mateen Ahmed Bhat, in a terror conspiracy case.

A bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Arun Bhardwaj held that the trial court had passed the order after properly considering the restrictions on grant of bail under UAPA and examining whether the accusations against Bhat were prima facie true.

The court further said neither was the bail order a final conclusion on the evidence nor did it discharge the accused. The subsequent framing of charges against Bhat was also deemed irrelevant by the bench while deciding NIA's appeal.

The case relates to an alleged larger conspiracy involving the activities of proscribed terrorist organisations and the use of online platforms and local operatives to spread unrest in J&K.

The high court observed that an appeal against the grant of bail has a limited scope and interference is warranted where the bail order is shown to be illegal, perverse, arbitrary or based on irrelevant considerations.

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