Delhi High Court seeks NIA response to Kashmiri youth's plea against UAPA charges

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notice to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on a plea filed by a Kashmiri youth, Mateen Ahmed Bhat, who has challenged an order framing charges against him under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967 [Mateen Ahmed Bhat vs National Investigation Agency & Anr.].

Justices Prathiba M Singh and Amit Sharma tagged this plea with a batch of appeals (Haris Nisar Langoo batch matters) filed by co-accused persons, which are pending before a Special Bench of the High Court.

The matter will be heard next on November 14. Advocate Kartik Venu appeared on behalf of Bhat today.

Bhat was arrested in October 2021 in connection with a first information report (FIR) registered by the NIA under various provisions of the UAPA.

The NIA alleged that the Kashmiri youth had been providing support to terrorist groups namely Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Hizab-ul-Mujahideen (HM), Al Badr and their affiliates.

It is NIA's case that Bhat had entered into a conspiracy with terror outfits to carry out terrorist attacks in Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of India.

Bhat is also accused of recruitment and radicalisation of Kashmiri youth for this purpose.

He was granted bail by a Delhi court in May 2023 after it expressed reservations about the NIA's accusations. The trial court judge had observed that there did not appear to be any evidence to support claims that Bhat handled arms or joined classes for radical teaching on religious lines.

The NIA's appeal challenging this bail order is pending before the Delhi High Court.