The Delhi High Court judge Amit Sharma on Thursday recused himself from hearing a plea filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) seeking death penalty for separatist leader Yasin Malik in a terror funding case.
A bench comprising Justice Prathiba M Singh and Justice Amit Sharma was to hear the case. Now the case will be re-listed on August 9 before a different bench.
Yasin Malik is currently serving a life sentence in the NIA case. The NIA has sought Death Penalty for him. Earlier, the high court had issued a notice to Malik on the NIA's plea seeking death penalty for him in the terror funding case.
In 2022, a trial court had sentenced Malik to life imprisonment after convicting him under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code (IPC) cases.
Malik had pleaded guilty following which he was sentenced to life imprisonment by a trial court. NIA has challenged the trial court order for not awarding death sentence to Malik and has contended that punishment for a terrorist cannot be reduced just because he has pleaded guilty.
58-year-old Malik was accused of terror funding in 2017 and arrested in 2019 by the NIA. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in May 2022. The JKLF chief is also accused of kidnapping then Union Home Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s daughter Rubiya Sayeed in 1989 and killing Indian Air Force officers in January 1990.
It may be recalled that in February, the Delhi High Court directed the Tihar Jail Superintendent to ensure that medical treatment is duly provided to Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik who was suffering from Cardiac ailments.
Today, Malik was present in the court through video conferencing. The Tihar authorities had told the court that since the JKLF chief is a high risk person, his appearance must remain virtual in court.
The high court will now list the matter in front of a fresh bench.