SC questions NIA over reliance on 1990s speeches in Shabir Shah Bail hearing

New Delhi Feb 25: The Supreme Court on Wednesday questioned the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for relying on alleged inflammatory speeches from the 1990s while opposing the bail plea of Kashmiri separatist leader Shabir Ahmed Shah in a terror funding case.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta was hearing arguments on Shah’s bail plea when senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, appearing for the NIA, referred to transcripts of certain videos as part of the evidence against him. The bench asked about the dates of the speeches cited by the agency.

Luthra informed the court that some of the videos dated back to the 1990s. The bench observed that these speeches were not recent and questioned the agency’s reliance on material that was 30 to 35 years old and recovered in 2019. “These speeches are not a new creation. These are something which were already there, say 30 years or 35 years before today. Now, you recover them in 2019 and say that these are the inflammatory speeches,” the bench remarked.

The NIA maintained that inflammatory videos were recovered from Shah’s premises during a search and that there were also incriminating emails and witness statements against him. The agency argued that the material formed part of the larger conspiracy case related to terror funding in Jammu and Kashmir.

The court also sought to know the stage of the trial. Luthra referred to a February 19 order of the trial court and said 34 witnesses had already been examined. He added that protected witnesses would be examined in the coming stages of the trial.

After hearing the NIA’s submissions, the bench posted the matter for March 12 to allow senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, representing Shah, to present his rejoinder arguments.

Earlier, on January 13, the apex court had pulled up the NIA for not properly presenting its case and asked the agency to justify Shah’s detention of over six years. It had directed the agency to place on record some of his speeches and other relevant material.

On September 4 last year, the Supreme Court refused to grant interim bail to Shah and sought the NIA’s response to his plea challenging the June 12, 2025 order of the Delhi High Court denying him bail. The high court had observed that the possibility of Shah engaging in similar unlawful activities and influencing witnesses could not be ruled out.

Shah was arrested by the NIA on June 4, 2019. In 2017, the agency booked 12 individuals on charges of conspiring to raise funds for stone-pelting, damaging public property and waging war against the central government.

He is alleged to have played a substantial role in promoting separatist activities in Jammu and Kashmir, including raising funds through hawala transactions and cross-Line of Control trade to fuel subversive and militant activities. The Delhi High Court also noted that Shah, chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party, faced 24 pending cases of a similar nature and rejected his plea for bail and house arrest, citing the seriousness of the charges.