New Delhi, Mar 12 : The Supreme Court of India on Thursday granted bail to Kashmiri separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shah in a case related to alleged terror funding and conspiracy to secede Jammu and Kashmir from India.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta granted the relief to Shah, who has been in custody in connection with the case.
The case was registered by the National Investigation Agency under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
According to the NIA, Shah was among several accused, including Yasin Malik and Abdul Rashid Sheikh, who were allegedly linked to organisations engaged in secessionist activities in Kashmir.
The agency had alleged that the accused persons raised and channelled funds to support separatist mobilisation and activities aimed at destabilising the region.
Earlier, the Delhi High Court had dismissed Shah’s plea challenging a special court order denying him bail in the case.
A bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Shalinder Kaur had held that the accusations against him appeared prima facie true and that he had failed to meet the legal threshold required for bail under the UAPA.
The high court had also observed that the right to freedom of speech and expression cannot be misused to deliver inflammatory speeches detrimental to the integrity of the country and is subject to reasonable restrictions including public order and incitement to an offence.
Aggrieved by the order, Shah approached the apex court, which granted him bail on Thursday.(KNS).
