Delhi HC Grants Bail to Hizb Chief’s Son in 2011 Case

SRINAGAR: The Delhi High Court has granted bail to Syed Ahmad Shakeel, son of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen chief Mohammad Yousuf Shah alias Syed Salahuddin, in a case alleging the receipt of funds through hawala channels for financing terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir.

The case traces back to a 2011 FIR registered by the Delhi Police Special Cell, later transferred to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code. The prosecution alleged that Shakeel, while employed as a senior laboratory technician at Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), received Rs 2,74,444 in six Western Union transfers between 2009 and 2010 from Aijaz Ahmad Bhat, a proclaimed offender based in Saudi Arabia with alleged Hizb-ul-Mujahideen links. The case further cited cash deposits of Rs 4.15 lakh into his bank accounts as unexplained and part of a wider conspiracy orchestrated by Salahuddin from Pakistan.

The prosecution claimed the funds were intended to finance militant operations in Jammu and Kashmir and were transferred at Shakeel’s father’s direction. The charge sheet named multiple accused, including active militants, overground workers, and hawala operatives, as part of a transnational network routing money from Pakistan via Saudi Arabia and the UAE to Jammu and Kashmir.

Shakeel was arrested in August 2018 and has since been in judicial custody. His counsel argued that he had already spent nearly seven years in detention without the trial nearing completion. Out of 201 prosecution witnesses, only 32 had been examined by July 2024, with no indication of expeditious progress. The defence emphasised that there was no direct evidence linking him to any specific terrorist act, and the case rested largely on the receipt of funds without proof of their use for unlawful activities. They also noted that the co-accused had either been acquitted or, in cases of conviction, had received lesser sentences after pleading guilty.

In its judgement, the High Court stressed that prolonged pre-trial incarceration violated the fundamental right to a speedy trial under Article 21 of the Constitution. It observed that the prosecution’s allegations primarily concerned the receipt of funds, with no evidence showing they were channeled into terrorist acts. The court also took note of the fact that the maximum sentence for the charges, if proven, would not exceed the period already spent in custody by some co-accused.

Bail was granted subject to conditions: Shakeel must furnish a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh with two sureties, surrender his passport, report twice a week to the local police station, refrain from leaving the country without court permission, and avoid contact with witnesses or tampering with evidence.

The bench clarified that its observations were limited to the bail application and would not prejudice the merits of the ongoing trial.