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The Delhi High Court connected Wednesday (June 10, 2026) granted bail to Kashmiri quality rights activistic Khuram Parvez successful a lawsuit nether the anti-terror law.
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A seat of Justices Navin Chawla and Ravinder Dudeja took enactment of Mr. Parvez's over-four-year incarceration successful the lawsuit and the unlikelihood of the proceedings concluding soon to clasp that his rights nether Article 21 of the Constitution trumped the regularisation connected bail nether conception 43D(5) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
The seat further observed that, having mislaid his limb successful a landmine blast successful 2004, the accused is infirm and deserves "special consideration".
The tribunal acceptable speech a proceedings court's December 2024 bid rejecting Mr. Parvez's bail plea and ordered, "We nonstop that the appellant beryllium released connected bail successful RC No. 30/2021/NIA/DLI, P.S. NIA, successful NIA/4/2022 connected conditions." The tribunal asked Mr. Parvez to surrender his passport, not to permission Delhi without the proceedings court’s permission, and to regularly study to the investigating officer.
It besides directed him not to marque immoderate nationalist connection connected the lawsuit oregon enactment successful activities prejudicial to nationalist bid oregon the trial's integrity, oregon "upload/share/disseminate oregon circulate immoderate anti-national material".
Mr. Parvez, the programme coordinator of the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society and the chairperson of the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances, was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) connected November 22, 2021.
The NIA had alleged that nether the guise of human-rights activism, Mr. Parvez conspired with a Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative to tally a web of overground workers (OGWs) for furthering the activities of the Pakistan-based violent organisation and committing panic acts successful India.
It had been alleged that Mr. Parvez was actively progressive successful collecting accusation regarding the question of Army vehicles adjacent the Line of Control (LoC), roadworthy conditions and details of Army camps, structures of the Army, paramilitary and constabulary etc.
The NIA has charge-sheeted Mr. Parvez for respective offences, including nether sections 13 (punishment for unlawful activities), 18 (punishment for conspiracy etc.), 18B (punishment for recruiting of immoderate idiosyncratic oregon persons for violent act), 38 (offence relating to rank of a violent organisation) and 39 (offence relating to enactment fixed to a violent organisation) of the UAPA and different sections nether the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Indian Penal Code.
Opposing the bail plea, the NIA contended successful the High Court that worldly shows that the lawsuit against the human-rights activistic is founded connected overt acts, including recruitment of OGWs for the LeT, transmission of quality to a Pakistan-based handler, progressive orchestration of nationalist violence, possession of targeting lists of Indian Army personnel, and corrupt engagement with a erstwhile NIA officer.
The NIA counsel emphasised that Mr. Parvez is simply a formation risk, instigated protests aft the encounter of Burhan Wani, and his past antecedents included 5 different cases involving akin secessionist and violent activities.
In the judgment, the tribunal said the allegations against the accused, though serious, were based connected the connection of a co-accused-turned-approver, who claimed to beryllium an NIA informer, and were yet to beryllium tested successful trial.
It observed that the NIA's allegations and Mr. Parvez's defence ought to beryllium tested against his agelong play of incarceration, the unlikelihood of the proceedings ending soon and the yardstick of "bail being the rule".
“The appellant’s rights nether Article 21 of the Constitution of India request to beryllium balanced and whitethorn adjacent instrumentality precedence implicit the restrictions imposed nether Section 43D(5) of the UAPA,” the tribunal said.
"We are besides to support successful caput that the appellant is infirm. Though the learned SPP has emphasised that his infirmity has not deterred the appellant from inactive indulging successful activities, which helium describes arsenic being anti-national, the information remains that the appellant is infirm and deserves peculiar consideration," it added.
The tribunal noted that though the Supreme Court has referred issues arising from the interplay betwixt Article 21 and conception 43D(5) of the UAPA to a larger bench, the apical tribunal has nevertheless released the accused successful that lawsuit connected interim bail for six months connected relationship of a important play of incarceration.
In the contiguous case, it said, the incarceration was for astir 4 years and a half, and the proceedings is astatine the signifier of arguments for the framing of charge, with the prosecution intending to analyse 197 witnesses.
The tribunal asked Mr. Parvez to execute a idiosyncratic enslaved of ₹2 lakh with 2 sureties successful the similar magnitude and clarified that his merchandise is taxable to his custody successful immoderate different case.
Other conditions included keeping his mobile telephone switched connected astatine each times, not changing his residence oregon interaction details without anterior intimation to the investigating serviceman and the proceedings court, and not tampering with evidence.
Mr. Parvez's counsel contended that specified statements against him without conclusive grounds did not marque retired a prima-facie lawsuit nether the UAPA.
The lawyer submitted that the accusation regarding Army structures etc. was collated and published successful 2015 successful a report, which was a morganatic human-rights documentation successful nationalist involvement and astir of the accusation was collected done RTI.
