Delhi High Court Reserves Verdict on Shabbir Shah’s Bail Plea Amid Claims of False Charges

After spending nearly seven years in Tihar Jail without a conviction, prominent Kashmiri political leader Shabbir Ahmad Shah awaits a crucial verdict from the Delhi High Court on his bail application.

The Delhi High Court has reserved its decision on the bail application of senior Hurriyat Conference leader Shabbir Ahmad Shah, who has been incarcerated in New Delhi’s Tihar Jail since 2017. The case, registered by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), has been criticized as fabricated by Shah’s legal team.

Shah approached the High Court after a special NIA court rejected his bail in July 2023. The division bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Shalinder Kaur recorded the list of cases filed against him and has now reserved the final order.

According to Shah’s counsel, senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, the leader is facing 24 alleged cases, with formal charges filed in 18 of them. The fresh bail plea was filed in 2023, pointing to the absence of substantial evidence and the prolonged nature of his detention.

It was argued that the trial court made a mistake by denying bail despite Shah’s lengthy custody and the lack of direct criminal involvement in the alleged conspiracy. His defense maintains that there is no specific criminal act attributed to him.

Shabbir Ahmad Shah, founder of the Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party, has been recognized as a political figure advocating peace, brotherhood, and religious harmony since 1998. His party was established to promote cooperation across religious and regional lines within Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

The defense plea emphasized that Shah’s name did not appear in the primary or first supplementary charge sheets, where the core allegations and accused conspirators were detailed. These documents outlined a conspiracy to fund disruptions in IIOJK, including stone-pelting and public property damage—yet made no mention of Shah.

Only in a second supplementary chargesheet, filed later, was Shah named. He was arrested in relation to this on June 4, 2019. However, he has remained in custody since July 26, 2017, initially under charges related to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Shah’s legal team noted that he has been detained—on and off—for over 35 years in various prisons across IIOJK and India, with no convictions or proven charges against him. His time in custody includes several years of house arrest and continuous imprisonment since 2017 under the current case.

The NIA had registered the FIR on May 30, 2017, against 12 accused persons, alleging they conspired to raise funds for activities against the Indian government. Yet, Shah’s involvement in this supposed conspiracy remains unsubstantiated in the initial investigation documents.