Nearly one-and-a-half month after his arrest by the NIA on fees of alleged terror hyperlinks, PDP youth wing chief Waheed Ur Rehman Para was Saturday granted bail by Special Judge Sunit Gupta, holding that “offences, particularly falling under Unlawful Activities Act (UAPA), are not prima facie made out against the applicant/accused”.
Highlighting varied loopholes within the NIA case in opposition to Para, the decide mentioned neither the unique nor the supplementary chargesheet has a “reference of the present applicant”, and that he’s even known as “suspected accused in the said case”. It additionally questioned the very foundation of Para’s arrest, on the “so-called disclosure statement” of militant Syed Naveed Mushtaq Shah alias Naveed Baba, noting that its “legal value” was “seriously hit by Section 25 of the Evidence Act”, which says that such confessional assertion can solely be recorded underneath Section 164 CrPC by a Magistrate, and mentioned that not even one protected witness had named him.
The Special Judge ordered Para’s launch on furnishing a surety and private bail bond of Rs 1 lakh every, with the route that he not depart Jammu and Kashmir with out written permission throughout his bail interval and give up his passport. Para was additionally particularly informed to not method any prosecution witness.
Considered instrumental in revival of the PDP in South Kashmir, Para was arrested by the NIA on November 25, three days after he had filed nomination papers from Pulwama for the maiden District Development Council elections in J&Okay. He had received whereas in custody. Sources within the NIA mentioned they’ll problem the bail order within the High Court.
Judge Gupta famous, “The authentic chargesheet was filed on July 6, 2020, whereby Naveed Mushtaq and different three accused had been chargesheeted, however there was not even a whisper in regards to the involvement of current applicant/accused Waheed Para within the fee of offences, even though the assertion of the accused Naveed Mushtaq allegedly implicating the current applicant… was already accessible with the investigating company’’.
Noting the NIA’s “deep slumber” in arresting Para solely in November, the order added, “This kind of inaction on the part of the investigating agency clearly postulates the fact that they were not intending to array the present applicant as accused in the present case… I seriously doubt… whether during the course of further investigation, the investigating agency could have arrested Waheed Para on the basis of the old evidence which was collected by them during initial investigations.”
Referring to the alleged assertion by Naveed saying Para gave monetary assist to the Hizbul Mujahideen for terror actions, the decide mentioned, even when he gave the cash, “the purchase of AK-47 rifles out of Rs 10 lakh financed by Para was not the decision of the present applicant, but it was the decision of accused Naveed Mushtaq… Therefore, we cannot link the present applicant with the commission of offence of supporting the terrorist organization.”
The courtroom additionally famous that the NIA had earlier not thought it match to behave in opposition to Para regardless of claiming to have the decision element data of his conversations with former DySP Davinder Singh, who had been arrested on January 11, 2020, after he was discovered travelling with Naveed. It might be as a result of the company discovered the mentioned proof inadequate to implicate him, the decide noticed. Para was not even named amongst these accused not chargesheeted however being investigated, he mentioned.
“Therefore, serious doubt has arisen on the action taken by the investigating agency with respect to the present applicant/accused,’’ the judge said, adding that “nothing substantial has been made out” in opposition to him “even from the statement of one protected witness” recorded after his arrest.
Para was represented by Senior Advocate P N Raina, accompanied by Alok Bambroo.
