NIA moves Delhi HC seeking death penalty for Yasin Malik, says nation lost valuable soldiers due to such dreaded terrorists

NEW DELHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday moved the Delhi High Court seeking capital punishment, or death penalty, for JKLF leader Yasin Malik in a terror funding case.

The trial court last year awarded life imprisonment to Yasin Malik, a separatist leader from J&K, in a terror funding case.

The NIA, in its appeal, stated that the crime committed by such dreaded terrorists, where due to their ‘act of war’, the nation has lost its valuable soldiers and has perpetrated irreparable grief, not only to the family members of the soldiers but to the entire nation.

The NIA stated that the respondent/accused, over decades, has been indulging and spearheading terrorist activities in the valley and, with the help of dreaded foreign terrorist organisations, having interest inimical to India, has been masterminding, planning, engineering and executing armed rebellion in the valley in an attempt to usurp the sovereignty and integrity of a part of India.

The NIA, in its appeal before Delhi HC, further stated that the offences committed by the respondent accused are ex-facie acts of “external aggression”, brazenly planned and executed by “acts of waging war against the nation” whereby “internal disturbance” was created through raising and using trained armed militia within the state and by helping trained terrorist, raised in enemy states, to infiltrate the borders of India to participate and catalyse such internal disturbances.

The NIA stated that submitted that if such dreaded terrorists are not given capital punishment only on the ground that they have pleaded guilty, then the same will result in complete erosion of the sentencing policy of the country and will result in the creation of a device, whereby, such dreaded terrorist after indulging, waging and spearheading an “act of war against the state”, in case caught, would have a way out to avoid capital punishment.

The matter is listed before the Delhi HC’s Division Bench of Justice Siddharth Mridul and Justice Talwant Singh. The hearing is to be held on May 29, 2023.

Earlier, on May 25, 2023, the trial court judge sentenced JKLF leader Yasin Malik to life imprisonment in a terror funding case and said, “In my opinion, there was no reformation of this convict. It may be correct that the convict may have given up the gun in the year 1994, but he had never expressed any regret for the violence he had committed prior to the year 1994”.

“It is to be noticed that, when he claimed to have given up the path of violence after the year 1994, the Government of India took it at its face value and gave him an opportunity to reform and, in good faith, tried to engage in a meaningful dialogue with him and, as admitted by him, gave him every platform to express his opinion”, said NIA court judge Praveen Singh.

The NIA court further said, “The crimes for which the convict has been convicted are of a very serious nature. These crimes were intended to strike at the heart of the idea of India and intended to forcefully secede J&K from UOI (Union of India)”.

“The crime becomes more serious as it was committed with the assistance of foreign powers and designated terrorists. The seriousness of the crime is further increased by the fact that it was committed behind the smoke screen of an alleged peaceful political movement”, added the trial court.

“The manner of the commission of the crime, and the kind of weaponry used in the crime lead me to the conclusion that the crime in question will fail the test of rarest of rare cases”, NIA Judge Praveen Singh said.

The NIA court, while sentencing Yasin Malik to life imprisonment, also imposed a fine of above Rs 10 lakh. He was sentenced to life imprisonment twice (one for waging war against the nation and one in UAPA Sec 17 raising funds for terror act). The NIA had sought the death penalty for the separatist leader who was convicted on May 19.

The court, while convicting him had said, “In view of the plea of the guilt, accused Mohd. Yasin Malik @ Aslam is hereby convicted for the offences punishable U/s 120B IPC, 121 IPC, 121A IPC, 13 UAPA r/w 120B IPC, 15 UAPA r/w 120B IPC, 17 UAPA, 18 UAPA, 20 UAPA, 38 UAPA and 39 UAPA.”

The NIA chargesheet submitted in the case stated that the Central Government received credible information that Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, Amir of Jammat-ud-Dawah and the secessionist and separatist leaders, including the members of Hurriyat Conference, have been acting in connivance with active militants of proscribed terrorist organizations like HM, LeT, etc. for raising, receiving and collecting funds domestically and abroad through various illegal channels including hawala.

The NIA also stated before the court that this has been done for funding separatist and terrorist activities in J&K and, as such, they have entered into a larger conspiracy for causing disruption in the valley by way of pelting stones on security forces, systematically burning schools, damage to public property and waging war against India. (ANI)