The Delhi High Court on Monday issued a notice to Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik, who has been awarded life imprisonment by a court here in a terror funding case, on a National Investigation Agency’s plea seeking death penalty for him.
While issuing the notice to the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief, a Bench of Justice Siddharth Mridul and Justice Talwant Singh ordered Malik to be produced before it on August 9.
- Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted that Yasin Malik indulged in terrorist and secessionist activities, which should be treated as a ‘rarest of rare’ case
- Mehta compared the Kashmiri separatist leader with slain al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden
- The High Court Bench, however, said the two were not comparable as Laden did not face any trial in a court of law
“In view of the ground that Yasin Malik, sole respondent in this appeal, has inter alia pleaded guilty to a charge under Section 121 of the IPC which provides for an alternate death sentence, we issue notice to him… to be served through the jail superintendent…Let warrants be issued for his production on the next date of hearing,” the Bench ordered.
The HC’s directions came after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted on behalf of the NIA that the accused indulged in terrorist and secessionist activities, which should be treated as a “rarest of rare” case and he should be awarded the capital punishment.
As Mehta compared the Kashmiri separatist leader to the slain al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, the Bench said the two were not comparable as Laden did not face any trial in a court of law.
A Delhi court had, on May 24 last year, awarded life imprisonment to Malik after holding him guilty of various offences under the UAPA and the IPC.
The maximum punishment for such an offence is death penalty. However, the trial court had noted that the case was not the “rarest of rare”, warranting death penalty.
While holding that the crimes committed by Malik struck at the “heart of the idea of India” and were intended to forcefully separate J&K from the Union of India, the trial court had rejected the NIA’s plea for capital punishment to the JKLF chief.
“These crimes were intended to strike at the heart of the idea of India and intended to forcefully secede J&K from the 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 smokescreen of an alleged peaceful political movement,” the trial court had said.
