Delhi HC grants bail to Mohd Shahzad Kamal in ISIS-linked UAPA case
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New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday granted bail to Mohd Shahzad Kamal, who has been accused of being associated with the pro-ISIS group Harkat-ul-Harb-E-Islam, in a case registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
A Division Bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Arun Bhardwaj allowed Kamal’s bail plea. A detailed copy of the court’s order is awaited.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has alleged that Kamal and other accused were involved in a conspiracy to carry out terrorist activities and provided financial support for the activities of Harkat-ul-Harb-E-Islam, which the agency describes as affiliated with the proscribed terrorist organisation ISIS.
According to the agency, Kamal transferred funds on multiple occasions to co-accused Mohd Absar between February 2017 and January 2019, allegedly to support terrorist activities. The NIA has also alleged that Kamal maintained contact with another accused, Md Saqib, through Facebook and WhatsApp and that conversations recovered during the investigation concerned the transfer of funds for jihad-related activities.
Kamal was arrested on August 31, 2021, in the NIA case registered in 2018. Charges under the UAPA were framed against him in August 2022. He had remained in custody for more than five years before the High Court granted him bail.
He approached the High Court after a Special NIA Court rejected his bail application on May 29, 2024. The High Court has now set aside that order and allowed his appeal.
The trial involves 161 prosecution witnesses and is not expected to conclude in the near future, according to reports on the High Court proceedings. The court’s observations were confined to the question of bail and will not affect the merits of the trial.