A division bench of the Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed the special court of National Investigation Agency to hear expeditiously the pending bail plea of the applicant who was accused under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for being a conduit in a hawala transaction to fund terrorism.
The Special Judge, NIA is directed to dispose of the applicant's bail application expeditiously as the bail application has been pending since February 4, 2021, said the Division Bench of Delhi High Court.
The Division Bench comprising of Justice Siddharth Mridul and Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhu in an order passed on July 19 while disagreeing with the reasoning given by the Special Court, directed that the application be heard on the next hearing date without fail.
"It is observed that despite the directions issued by the single judge of this court, the bail application has remained pending before the Special Judge, NIA, Patiala House Courts on the ground that since the record pertaining to the subject case is voluminous, it will only be possible to hear the bail application once physical hearings are resumed and not by video conferencing" the court noted.
The court said, with the utmost respect, we do not agree with the reasons ascribed by the Special Judge, NIA for not hearing and deciding the applicant's bail application, despite the same having remained pending before him since February 4 and in the teeth of the directions issued by the Single Judge of this court vide order dated May 27.
Advocates Tanveer Ahmed Mir and Prabhav Ralli represented the applicant in the matter.
The applicant herein is accused under the UAPA of being a conduit in a hawala transaction to fund terrorism and is in custody since September 26, 2018. Mohammad Saleem was arrested along with others by NIA in connection with an alleged terror funding module having links with Pakistan, said the sources.
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