On Monday, the Delhi High Court indicated that it would take into consideration the request of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to conduct in-camera proceedings on its appeal to sentence Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yasin Malik to death in one of the terror funding cases. The observation was made by a division bench of Vivek Chaudhary and Manoj Jain after the NIA counsel Akshai Malik requested the court to give an alternate video connection that was not publicly accessible when the case was heard.
The NIA has appealed the order of a trial court that convicted Yasin Malik on various crimes of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on May 24, 2022, thus imposing a life sentence on him. Malik was found guilty after agreeing to charges against terror financing, terror propagation, and spearheading secessionist movements in Kashmir. The agency is however demanding the harshest penalty the death penalty citing the seriousness of his crimes.
In the proceedings at Monday, the NIA also requested more time to present its reply to the affidavit that Malik had presented in August. Malik made an appearance virtually at the jail of Tihar, which is why he opposed the adjournment, saying that the length of time required to take its case was tantamount to psychological torture. It is mental torture to keep me in suspense on whether I shall be hanged or not, Mr. Keating told the bench in Hindi.
In the 85-page affidavit, Malik alleged that he had collaborated with state agencies since denouncing armed struggle in 1994 and held discussions with the top government officials and distinguished people. He claimed that the informal ceasefire accord with him had been respected by the successive governments including the one headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, until 2019.
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