Terror Funding Case: Delhi HC Allows Tihar Jail Authority to Produce Yasin Malik through VC

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday granted permission to the Tihar Jail Authority to present JKLF (Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front) chief Yasin Malik through video conferencing (VC) due to security concerns.

This decision came during the hearing of the National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) appeal seeking capital punishment or death penalty for Yasin Malik in a terror funding case.

A bench of Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice Neena Bansal Krishna, deferred the hearing on the appeal to February 14, noting that Yasin Malik was not presented through VC before the court on the current date.

In the previous hearing, the Tihar Jail Authority requested a modification of the court’s earlier order, which directed the physical presence of JKLF chief Yasin Malik in the Delhi High Court. The preceding bench, while allowing Tihar’s plea, had highlighted that Yasin Malik should not be moved from Tihar Jail or taken out of the NCT of Delhi for a year or until the trial’s completion, based on the powers conferred under CRPC by the President of India.

The court modified the order to direct the Jail Superintendent to produce Yasin Malik through Video Conferencing in the present appeal. The Delhi High Court, in its earlier order, issued a warrant for Yasin Malik’s presence in response to the NIA’s appeal for capital punishment or death penalty in the terror funding case.

Tihar, in its application, emphasized that Yasin Malik, categorized as a very high-risk prisoner, is housed in Tihar Jail, New Delhi, and the application pertains to a significant security issue. Therefore, it is crucial that Yasin Malik is not physically produced before the Court to maintain public order and safety, and he should be allowed to participate in the proceedings through Video Conferencing, as asserted by the NIA.

The Delhi High Court, on May 29, 2023, had issued notice to Yasin Malik in response to an NIA appeal seeking capital/death penalty for him in a terror funding case, arguing that it is a “rarest of rare” case. The Trial Court had awarded life imprisonment to Yasin Malik in the same case, and the Division Bench had issued a production warrant for his appearance in court.

During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the NIA, highlighted Yasin Malik’s responsibility for killing four IAF personnel, kidnapping Rubaiya Sayeed, and the subsequent involvement of released terrorists in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. The NIA argued that if such dreaded terrorists are not given capital punishment, it would erode the sentencing policy and provide an avenue for them to avoid the most severe penalty after engaging in acts of war against the state.

The NIA also asserted that Yasin Malik, over decades, had been leading terrorist activities in the valley, collaborating with foreign terrorist organizations, and masterminding armed rebellion to undermine the sovereignty and integrity of a part of India.

In the previous trial court’s judgment on May 25, 2022, the Judge, while sentencing life imprisonment to Yasin Malik, remarked on the absence of any reformation in the convict. The NIA charge sheet in the case outlined credible information about Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, leaders of secessionist and separatist groups, and their involvement in funding separatist and terrorist activities in J-K. The NIA argued that this conspiracy aimed to cause disruption in the valley through various illegal channels, including hawala, leading to pelting stones, burning schools, and waging war against India.