Shah Aijaz CNI

The Delhi High Court has granted bail to Syed Ahmad Shakeel, son of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen chief Mohammad Yousuf Shah alias Syed Salahuddin, in a 2011 case alleging he received funds through hawala channels to finance militancy in Jammu Kashmir.The case stems from a 2011 FIR registered by Delhi Police’s Special Cell and later handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and IPC.

Investigators alleged Shakeel, then a senior laboratory technician at Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), received ₹2.74 lakh via six Western Union transfers between 2009 and 2010 from Aijaz Ahmad Bhat, a proclaimed offender based in Saudi Arabia with alleged Hizb links. Another ₹4.15 lakh was allegedly deposited in his bank accounts as part of a conspiracy said to be directed by Salahuddin from Pakistan

Prosecutors claimed the money was meant to fund militant activities, routed from Pakistan through Saudi Arabia and the UAE to Kashmir via hawala operatives. The charge sheet also named militants, overground workers, and couriers as part of the network.

Shakeel was arrested in August 2018 and has spent nearly seven years in custody. His counsel argued that the trial had barely progressed, with only 32 of 201 witnesses examined by July 2024, and that no direct evidence linked him to any specific militant act.

The defence noted that several co-accused were either acquitted or given lesser sentences after pleading guilty.

The court observed that prolonged pre-trial detention violated the constitutional right to a speedy trial and that the allegations were limited to the receipt of funds, with no proof of their use in terrorism. It also noted that the maximum possible sentence for the charges would be similar to time already served by some co-accused.

Bail conditions include furnishing a personal bond of ₹1 lakh with two sureties, surrendering his passport, reporting to the local police twice a week, not leaving India without permission, and avoiding contact with witnesses. The bench clarified its observations were confined to the bail decision and would not affect the trial’s merits.