J-K Teror Conspiracy case: Delhi HC denies bail to Suhail Ahmad Thokar

New Delhi [India]: The Delhi High Court on Friday dismissed an appeal moved against a trial court order denied bail to Suhail Ahmad Thokar, one of the accused in a case registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in connection with the J-K terrorism case.

The Division bench of Justice Siddharth Mridul and Justice Anish Dayal while passing judgment said, that after due consideration of the provisions of the UAPA Act, along with an assessment of the material appended in the subject charge sheet; the collective evidence; as well as surface analysis of its probative value, in our considered view prima facie there exist reasonable grounds to believe that the accusations against the appellant are true. Consequently, the conditions in Section 43D (5) of the UAPA Act stand satisfied.

The present appeal is accordingly dismissed, said the Judges.According to the NIA, an FIR was registered subsequent to the receipt of intelligence regarding the incubation of a larger conspiracy in the Kashmir valley.

It is alleged by the prosecution, that the conspiracy, encompassed both the physical realm, as well as in the digital domain and had been orchestrated by violent and proscribed terrorist groups, including Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-E-Mohammed (JeM), Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM), Al-Badr, as well as other terrorist groups pointed elaborated in the charge sheet during the course of the investigation, it was unearthed that, the aforementioned terrorist groups, in collaboration with their facilitators and leaders based in Pakistan, along with their Over-Ground Workers within India, were involved in influencing and radicalizing susceptible local youth, the court noted.

It is also alleged that the objective was to recruit and train these young individuals to participate in acts of terrorism, which included handling weapons, ammunition, and explosive materials. These actions were intended to execute acts of terrorism, involving attacks on civilians and security forces, with the intention of spreading fear within the Kashmir Valley and in various regions of India, subsequent to the revocation of Article 370 from the Constitution of India, noted the Court.

It is alleged in the charge sheet that the investigation had revealed that the larger conspiracy was masterminded by high-ranking leaders of various terrorist organizations, including Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM), Al-Badr and other entities situated in Pakistan.

It is further alleged that the conspiracy was conceived subsequent to the revocation of Article 370, with the objective of reigniting acts of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, as well as, in other regions of India to accomplish this malevolent objective, a central organization known as the “United Jihad Council” (UJC) was established as part of a larger conspiracy, in collaboration with other proscribed terrorist groups, noted the court.

In the matter, Sohail Ahmed Thokar through his lawyer contended that there existed no substantive evidence on record to corroborate a nexus between the Appellant and the “larger conspiracy”, which is stated to be the genesis for registration of the present FIR.

The lawyer also argued that the appellate nothing incriminating was recovered from the possession of the appellant.

He also added that a mere connection or endorsement of a terrorist organization does not meet the essential pre-requisites for invoking the charges delineated under Sections 38 and 39 of the UAPA Act