SC Grants Bail to Separatist Leader Shabir Shah in Terror Funding Case

New Delhi, Mar 12: The Supreme Court on Thursday granted bail to Kashmiri separatist leader Shabir Ahmed Shah in a terror funding case in which he was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in June 2019.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta said a detailed order outlining stringent bail conditions will be issued later.

The court passed the order after hearing rejoinder arguments from Shah’s counsel, senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, while senior advocate Siddharth Luthra represented the NIA.

During the hearing, the bench pointed out several anomalies in the trial proceedings and took note of Shah’s prolonged incarceration.

Earlier, on September 4 last year, the apex court had refused to grant him interim bail and had issued a notice to the NIA seeking its response to his plea challenging a June 12, 2025 order of the Delhi High Court that had denied him relief.

The high court had rejected Shah’s bail plea, observing that the possibility of him engaging in similar unlawful activities and influencing witnesses could not be ruled out.

The case dates back to 2017 when the NIA booked 12 individuals on charges of conspiring to raise funds to disrupt peace in Jammu and Kashmir through activities such as stone-pelting, damaging public property and waging war against the central government.

According to the agency, Shah allegedly played a significant role in supporting separatist activities in Jammu and Kashmir, including inciting people to raise slogans for secession, paying tributes to slain militants, receiving funds through hawala channels and raising money through cross-LoC trade.

Investigators alleged that the funds were used to finance subversive and militant activities in the region. (Agencies)