Holding that prima facie there is sufficient material to raise strong suspicion against all seven accused, a Special NIA Court in Delhi has ordered charges under Section 3 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act to be framed against Yasin Malik and six others, in a case where the Enforcement Directorate alleges that Rs 8.94 crore in proceeds of crime was received through hawala channels from the Pakistani establishment; the charges are yet to be tested at trial.
New Delhi: A Delhi court has directed the framing of money laundering charges against Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik and six others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA), in a case filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) alleging that funds were received from the Pakistani establishment through hawala channels [Directorate of Enforcement v. Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali and Others].
Special NIA Judge Prashant Sharma of the Patiala House Courts passed the order on September 9, 2026, directing that charges be framed against Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali, Naval Kishore Kapoor, M/s Trison Farms and Constructions Pvt Ltd, Mohd. Yasin Malik, Shabir Ahmad Shah, Masarat Alam and Abdul Rashid Sheikh.
Charges ordered on prima facie material
At the stage of framing of charge, the Court is required to see only whether the material on record raises a strong suspicion against the accused, and not whether guilt is proved. Recording its conclusion on that test, the Special Judge said:
“I conclude that prima facie, there is sufficient material on record based upon which strong suspicion is raised against all seven accused persons namely Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali, Naval Kishore Kapoor, M/s Trison Farms and Constructions Pvt Ltd, Mohd. Yasin Malik, Shabir Ahmad Shah, Masarat Alam and Abdul Rashid Sheikh, for which said accused persons have to be charged with offence u/sec. 3 of PMLA, punishable u/sec. 4 of PMLA.”
What the ED alleges
The ED has alleged that proceeds of crime amounting to Rs 8,94,87,639 were generated and thereafter received by the accused persons. It has further alleged that the accused were involved in receiving funds from the Pakistani establishment through hawala, and from other terrorist outfits through various means and channels, in order to propagate an ideology and agenda of secessionism and subversive activities prejudicial to the law of the land. These allegations are yet to be proved, and the order at this stage records only that there is material sufficient to raise a strong suspicion.
The Court also noted that the second supplementary charge sheet of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) records that Malik received Rs 15,75,595 from Saudi Arabia.
Background of the case
The money laundering case rests on a case registered by the NIA in 2017, in which Sections 120B, 121 and 121A of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 13, 16, 17, 18, 20, 38, 39 and 40 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act were invoked. The ED filed its complaint to trace the alleged proceeds of crime on June 14, 2017.
Separately, Malik is serving a life sentence in the NIA’s terror funding case, in which the agency’s appeal seeking enhancement of the punishment is pending before the Delhi High Court.
Next steps in the trial
The matter was listed on September 30, 2026 for the physical appearance of the accused, so that they could be asked whether they accept or deny the charges. As some of the accused could not be produced in court for high security reasons, the Court directed the ED to obtain their signatures on the charges while they remain in judicial custody. The case will next be heard on October 30, 2026.
Why the order matters
The order moves the money laundering prosecution, which has been pending since 2017, from the pre-charge stage to trial. Framing of charge is not a finding of guilt: the accused are entitled to the presumption of innocence, and the ED will have to prove the alleged proceeds of crime and the accused’s involvement in the laundering of those proceeds through evidence led at trial.
Case Title: Directorate of Enforcement v. Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali and Others
Bench: Special NIA Judge Prashant Sharma, Patiala House Courts, New Delhi
Date of Order: September 9, 2026
Appearances: Special Public Prosecutors N.K. Matta, Simon Benjamin and Manish Jain for the ED; Advocate Juhi Bhargava for Abdul Rashid Sheikh; Advocate Zahbi Tihami for Shabir Ahmad Shah; Advocate Nishant Singh, Amicus Curiae, for Yasin Malik
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