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Supreme Court of India 2019-04-02

National Investigation Agency vs Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali

Bench: 2 — A.M. Khanwilkar

In Brief

A terror funding case involving allegations of conspiracy to wage war against India through financing secessionist activities in Jammu & Kashmir. The respondent (Accused No.10) was alleged to be a conduit for transferring funds from Pakistan's High Commission and terrorist organizations to Hurriyat leaders. The trial court rejected bail, but the High Court granted it after discarding key documentary evidence and protected witness statements on admissibility grounds. The Supreme Court reversed the High Court, holding that at the bail stage, courts must examine the totality of material without excluding evidence as inadmissible. The Court need only form prima facie opinions on broad probabilities, not conduct a mini-trial. Based on the accumulated documentary evidence, witness statements, CDR analysis, and linkage charts, reasonable grounds existed for believing the accusations prima facie true, warranting bail rejection.

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Bail Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, 1967 Terrorism Financing Section 43D(5) UAPA Terror Conspiracy Evidence at Bail Stage Criminal Procedure

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