Separatist leader Nayeem Ahmad Khan, accused in a terror funding case, has moved the Delhi High Court challenging the trial court’s order dated January 27, directing the attachment of All Parties Hurriyat Conference’s (APHC) office in Srinagar under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The trial court passed the order in National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) plea u/s 33(1) of the UAPA.
The NIA is investigating Nayeem Khan for creating unrest in the Kashmir Valley region. He was arrested on July 24, 2017, in the terror funding case and has been in judicial custody since August 14, 2017. A trial court denied Khan bail in December 2022 and now his bail application is pending before the Delhi High Court.
In his plea challenging the trial court’s order dated January 27, Nayeem Khan contends that no case has been made out alleging any wrongdoing in relation to the property. He said, “As per the prosecution’s case, the property is co-owned by several persons, only one of whom is an accused in the present case. No statements of the alleged co-owners has been recorded by the Prosecution or given a notice regarding seeking such attachment. Pertinently, the other co-owners of the property are not accused in the present case. The attachment qua the said persons ought not to have been effected at all, and certainly not without prior court notice.”
Furthermore, Khan has alleged that the trial court misconstrued the availability of its powers under the concerned provision necessitating the attachment of the property. The plea states, “…the impugned order violates the right of the Appellant under Article 21 by ordering attachment of a property partly owned by the Appellant without the said property having any linkage with the case at hand.”
The NIA argued that the APHC’s Rajbagh office was being used to strategize protests, funding stone pelting on security forces, recruiting youth to carry out unlawful and terrorist activities to create unrest in Jammu and Kashmir, and wage war against the Government of India, before the trial court.
The court noted that the allegations against Khan are serious and said, “In such situation taking into consideration the serious nature of the allegations as against A-5 itself (Khan), the fact that he is part owner of the property in question, cannot be a reason for not attaching the property when it is not even made clear as to who others were co-owners of that property.”
Thereafter, the trial court directed the attachment of Hurriyat’s property. The court said, “In view of the above reasons, the immovable property i.e. building office of All Parties Hurriyat Conference situated at Raj Bagh, Srinagar which was earlier used as an office of APHC is ordered to be attached. Necessary legal process be carried out in this regard.”
The NIA registered the FIR based on the Ministry of Home Affair’s complaint alleging that terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba’s chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed and various other separatists were raising funds “through hawala.” Furthermore, it was alleged that there was a larger criminal conspiracy to cause violence and disruption in Kashmir by “pelting stones on the security forces, systematically burning of schools, damage to public property and for waging war against India.” The NIA registered the case u/s 120B, 121, 121A and 124 A of the Indian Penal Code and u/s 13, 16, 17, 18, 20, 39 and 40 of the UAPA.
Furthermore, the trial court denied the terror funding accused bail in December 2022. The court observed that there is sufficient evidence available against Khan to raise “grave suspicion.” The court said, “…..and this court is very much conscious of period of incarceration of different accused persons including applicant. However for the reasons so mentioned above, bail application of the accused/applicant stands declined.”
