The Delhi High Court on Wednesday granted bail to Kashmiri human rights activist Khurram Parvez more than four years after he was arrested by the National Investigation Agency under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, Live Law reported.
However, he will remain in jail as he also faces charges under the anti-terror law in a separate case filed in 2020, according to The Indian Express. He was arrested in the case in 2023.
A division bench on Wednesday allowed Parvez’s challenge to a December 2024 order by a trial court that denied him bail.
In the present case, Parvez was arrested in November 2021 under sections of the anti-terror law pertaining to waging war against the state, criminal conspiracy and terror funding.
He was also charged under sections of the Indian Penal Code pertaining to waging, attempting to wage, abetting waging of war against the government, recruiting of a person for a terrorist act and criminal conspiracy.
Parvez is accused of supporting terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba’s activities through a network of overground workers, Bar and Bench reported.
The National Investigation Agency accused him of recruiting operatives, and gathering information about security forces and military installations.
In March 2023, the agency arrested him in a separate case pertaining to the raising of funds by non-governmental organisations for charity but diverting them for “secessionist and separatist activities”, The Indian Express reported.
He is associated with the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society, a union of nonprofit campaign and advocacy organisations in Srinagar.
In his bail appeal, Parvez said that he was a “factual stranger” to the alleged conspiracy and highlighted that the investigators had failed to establish any contact between him and operatives of the terror group.
He contended that an examination of his digital devices that were seized would show no proof of communication with alleged handlers or evidence of recruitment of overground workers, Bar and Bench reported.
Parvez also rejected the allegations that his visits to Pakistan in the past could link him to banned organisations. He said that the trips had been part of humanitarian and advocacy initiatives.
In October 2020, the NIA had conducted searches at Parvez’s home in the case pertaining to diversion of funds by NGOs. While he was not initially named in the case, he was subsequently arrested in March 2023.
In 2016, the activist was booked under the Public Safety Act after protests triggered by the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani. He had spent 76 days in detention at the time.
Edited by Nachiket Deuskar.
Also read: Empty rooms, silenced voices: What remains of Kashmiri civil society’s valiant fight for justice
You’ve read Scroll.
Now help sustain it
Scroll is funded by readers, not corporate owners. If you believe our work matters, support our newsroom. Become a member today!
We’re not driven by clicks or corporate interests – just honest, independent reporting. Keep us going. Support Scroll today!