![[Money Laundering Case] Delhi Court Grants Bail to Kashmiri Separatist Leader Shabir Shah](https://i0.wp.com/lawchakra.in/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/image-2-3.png?fit=400%2C368&ssl=1)
A Delhi court granted bail to Kashmiri separatist leader Shabir Shah in a money laundering case. The court highlighted that Shah had already been in custody for six years and ten months, close to the maximum seven-year sentence for the offense. This development marks a significant turn in Shah’s prolonged legal battle.
New Delhi: A Delhi’s Patiala House Court granted bail to Kashmiri separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shah in a money laundering case related to alleged terror funding in Jammu and Kashmir. The court noted that Shah had been in custody for nearly seven years, which is close to the maximum possible sentence of seven years for the offense.
Additional Sessions Judge Dheeraj Mor, while granting statutory bail to Shah in an order passed on June 7, observed that the other cases in which the separatist leader in custody very serious in nature.
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The judge stated,
“Nonetheless, this cannot serve as an adequate reason to deny him statutory bail, given that he has not been convicted of any charges,”
The judge remarked,
“Even if bail is granted in this case, he is unlikely to be released from jail for the other mentioned offenses before July 24, 2024, the date when the maximum seven-year sentence for the current case expires for him as an under-trial prisoner,”
Shabir Ahmad Shah sought bail on the grounds that he had already served more than half the maximum possible sentence for the offense of money laundering in the case. The bail application claimed that Shah had been in custody since July 26, 2017, and would complete the full seven-year maximum imprisonment term as an undertrial prisoner on July 25.
Additionally, the application noted that Shah’s co-accused, Mohd. Aslam Wani, had been acquitted of all charges except the offense under Section 25 of the Arms Act.
Shabir Ahmad Shah’s legal team filed an application under Section 436A of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), seeking his regular bail on the grounds that he had already served more than half the maximum possible sentence for the money laundering offense he was being tried for, which carries a maximum punishment of 7 years.
Advocates Prashant Prakash and Qausar Khan, representing Shah, argued that he had been in custody since July 26, 2017, and would complete the full 7-year maximum imprisonment term as an undertrial prisoner on July 25, 2024, within a month and a half from the present date.
The defense counsel further submitted that as per the judgment in the Vijay Madanlal Chaudhary vs. Union of India case, the applicant seeking bail under Section 436A CrPC is not required to meet the mandatory twin tests contained in Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
However, the Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) for the Enforcement Directorate, Advocate N K Matta, opposed the bail plea on the grounds that the allegations against Shah grave and serious in nature, warranting severe punishment.
The application asserted,
“The application argued that following his acquittal in the scheduled offenses, which form the basis of the current case filed by the ED, the prosecution’s claims of generating proceeds of crime through criminal activity related to those offenses no longer hold,”
The ED opposed the application, contending that the allegations against Shah were of a grave and serious nature, warranting severe punishment.
The allegations against Shabir Ahmad Shah stated that he was involved in the commission of serious crimes and the generation of large amounts of proceeds from crime, originating from various countries including Pakistan, to foment unrest in Kashmir. He also found to be involved in terror financing activities.
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The Enforcement Directorate argued that if released on bail, Shah may engage in similar criminal activities again.
Shabir Ahmad Shah, a resident of south Kashmir’s Anantnag, first arrested at the young age of 14 for participating in a pro-separatist protest. When he was 21 years old, in 1974, Shah joined the Jammu and Kashmir People’s League, an organization, at the forefront of advocating for separatism in the region. Later, in 1998, Shah went on to form the Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party (JKDFP) after parting ways with the Jammu and Kashmir People’s League.
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