New Delhi: On Thursday, the Delhi High Court is expected to hear the Tihar Jail superintendent's request to bring Yasin Malik, the chief of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), who is undergoing a life sentence for terror funding case, before the court via video conference (VC).
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has appealed to the Supreme Court for a death sentence for Malik, challenging trial court’s order, which handed life imprisonment to him.
The jail authorities have asked the high court to change its order that Malik be present in person during the hearing. They say that Malik is a "very high risk" prisoner, so he should be allowed to join the hearings through a video call.
“… it is submitted that the Respondent/Convict Yasin Malik has been lodged in the Tihar Jail, New Delhi under the category of very high risk prisoners and thus, the present Application is in relation to a heavy security issue. Therefore, it is imperative that the Respondent/Convict Yasin Malik is not physically produced before this Hon’ble Court in order to maintain public order and safety,” the application said.
In July 21, the Supreme Court was stunned to see Malik before it as he appeared for an appeal filed by the CBI against a special Jammu court order calling for his physical appearance for trial in kidnapping and murder cases against him.
The case was deferred for four weeks after a bench consisting of Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Surya Kant decided to decline hearing it.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had a problem with Malik's appearance in the highest court, saying that the Registrar of the court needs to give permission for such appearances.
To the dismay of the bench, he informed the court that Malik cannot be released from jail since he is subject to Section 268 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
According to the SG, this is a major security concern, and the government at the centre would take whatever measures are required to keep Malik behind bars permanently.
Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju, who appeared for the CBI, said that Malik was brought out of jail callously by the jail authorities upon misinterpretation of the top court’s order.
An official said that the next day, Delhi prison authorities suspended four officers involved in the security breakdown involving Malik.
Last year in May, Malik — who was pleaded guilty — was sentenced to life imprisonment by a special NIA court in a terror funding case, and was convicted of offences under Sections 120B, 121, 121A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Sections 13 and 15 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) read with 120B of the IPC besides Sections 17, 18, 20, 38 and 39 of UAPA.—Inputs from Agencies