In Brief
The National Investigation Agency appealed against a High Court order granting bail to Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali, accused of terror funding and conspiracy under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. The Court held that in terrorist cases involving special statutory provisions, bail decisions must be based on a broad assessment of all materials in the case-diary and charge-sheet, without conducting a detailed analysis of evidence. The Supreme Court reversed the High Court's bail grant, holding that the totality of materials—including documents, witness statements, and digital evidence—demonstrated reasonable grounds to believe the accusation was prima facie true, which triggers the statutory bar on bail. The Court emphasized that technical exclusions of evidence at the bail stage are improper.
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