NIA Moves Delhi HC Seeking Death Penalty For Yasin Malik In Terror Funding Case

National Investigation Agency on Friday moved Delhi High Court seeking death penalty for Kashmiri separatist Yasin Malik.

Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik

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National Investigation Agency (NIA) Friday moved Delhi High Court seeking death penalty for Kashmiri separatist and chief of the banned Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) Yasin Malik in terror funding case. The plea by the agency has been listed for hearing on May 29 before a bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Talwant Singh, reported news agency PTI.

Malik is lodged in Tihar Jail after he was sentenced by a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in May. He was arrested in early 2019 in connection with the 2017 terror financing case registered by the NIA. The court held him guilty for various offences under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the IPC.

NIA had sought a death penalty for Yasin Malik but the court rejected the plea and said the crimes committed by Malik struck at the "heart of the idea of India" and were intended to forcefully secede Jammu and Kashmir from Union of India. 

“These crimes were intended to strike at the heart of the idea of India and intended to forcefully secede J&K from UOI. The crime becomes more serious as it was committed with the assistance of foreign powers and designated terrorists. The seriousness of crime is further increased by the fact that it was committed behind the smokescreen of an alleged peaceful political movement,” the trial court had said, reported PTI.

It had noted that the case was not the “rarest of rare”, warranting death penalty.

The court had awarded Malik 10-year jail term each under sections 120 B (criminal conspiracy), 121-A (conspiracy to wage war against the government of India) of IPC and sections 15 (terrorism), 18 (conspiracy for terrorism) and 20 (being member of terror organisation) of UAPA.

It had also awarded five-year jail term each under sections 13 (unlawful act), 38 (offence related to membership of terrorism) and 39 (support given to terrorism) of UAPA.