Earlier on Friday, the Supreme Court allowed Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Mohammad Yasin Malik to examine witnesses through videoconferencing from Tihar Jail in two terror cases. A bench headed by Justice Abhay S Oka decided the same in a petition filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) which was seeking transfer of trials of Malik from Jammu to Delhi.
In two cases, both involving the kidnapping of Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of ex-Union minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and in the 1990 Srinagar IAF shootout case, Malik is being tried. However the CBI argued that cross-examination of witnesses was not possible as far as Malik was concerned in his capacity as an officer resident in Jammu, and he was not allowed to move out of Delhi owing to security reasons. In December 2022, the Centre prohibited his transport of him to Jammu court, citing risks.
The Supreme Court also asked the registrar general of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court to visit the video conference (VC) facility at the Special TADA/POTA court at Jammu and make whatever changes are needed before passing the order. The court also directed a Supreme Court registrar in information technology to inspect the online set-up at Tihar jail and file a report on its aptness.
The Supreme Court issued orders that confirmed that there were appropriate VC facilities both for Tihar Jail and the trial court and directed Yasin Malik to cross-examine them remotely. In doing so, it approaches this decision as a balancing of legal requirements and security concerns and allows the trials to continue in the interest of safety, and limited disruptions. It is significant, as it upholds the judicial process in handling logistical and security challenges in high-profile cases.
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