New Delhi [India], August 25 (ANI): The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted bail to Naval Kishore Kapoor, an accused in the Jammu and Kashmir terror funding case, taking into account his prolonged incarceration of eight years and one month and the slow progress of the trial.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta also noted that co-accused and separatist leader Shabbir Ahmad Shah had already been enlarged on bail in the case.
The bench further took note of the large number of witnesses cited by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). While the chargesheet contains a list of more than 200 witnesses, only 51 have been examined so far.
Senior Advocate Shadan Farasat appeared for Kapoor, while Senior Advocate Sidharth Luthra represented the NIA.
Luthra submitted that the prosecution was reducing the number of witnesses in an effort to ensure that the trial proceeds expeditiously.
The bench thereafter granted Kapoor bail and left it to the trial court to impose appropriate conditions for his release.
The case relates to an NIA investigation into an alleged terror-funding network in Jammu and Kashmir. The agency's case concerns alleged financing of terrorist and separatist activities in the Valley through a network involving separatist leaders, terrorist organisations and other accused persons.
The NIA had alleged that funds were being channelled through various sources and used to support activities linked to terrorism and separatism in Jammu and Kashmir. The case was registered in 2017 under provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
The investigation had led to the arrest and prosecution of several separatist leaders and other persons accused of being part of the alleged funding network.
Kapoor's bail plea was considered by the Supreme Court against the backdrop of the considerable time he has already spent in custody and the fact that the trial is still at the stage of prosecution evidence, with only 51 witnesses examined out of the more than 200 cited by the NIA.
The Court's decision also comes after Shah, another accused in the same case, was granted bail. The bench took Shah's release into consideration while examining Kapoor's plea.
With Tuesday's order, Kapoor will now be released subject to the conditions to be fixed by the trial court. (ANI)
Supreme Court grants bail to another accused in J-K terror funding case
