The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed a petition with the Delhi High Court, urging for the imposition of the death penalty on Yasin Malik, the Chief of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) and a prominent Kashmiri separatist leader.
Scheduled for a hearing on May 29 before a Division Bench consisting of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Talwant Singh, the petition comes after Malik was handed a life imprisonment sentence by a special NIA court in May 2022. Malik had pleaded guilty in a terror funding case.
Previously, the NIA had sought the death penalty for Malik in the trial court. However, the special court declined the request, stating that the death sentence should only be given in extraordinary cases that "shock the collective consciousness of society."
Malik was convicted of various offenses under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 120B, 121, 121A, as well as sections 13 and 15 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) read with IPC section 120B. Additionally, he was found guilty under sections 17, 18, 20, 38, and 39 of the UAPA.
In a detailed judgment, the NIA court emphasized that Malik had betrayed the government's good intentions by opting for a violent path. The court highlighted that the evidence, upon which charges were framed and to which Malik pleaded guilty, indicated otherwise.
The judge also dismissed Malik's argument that he had adopted a Gandhian approach after 1994. The court pointed out that even after widespread violence engulfed the Kashmir valley, Malik neither condemned the violence nor withdrew his protests, which had contributed to the escalation of violence.
TAGS: National Investigation Agency (NIA) Delhi High Court death sentence Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) Chief Yasin Malik terror funding case life imprisonment Division Bench Justices Siddharth Mridul Talwant Singh capital punishment exceptional cases collective consciousness of the society Indian Penal Code (IPC) Sections 120B 121 121A Sections 13 15 of UAPA Sections 17 18 20 38 39 of UAPA violent path government's good intentions special court plea conviction judgment Gandhian protests violence Kashmir valley.
