Delhi High Court Grants Bail in Terror Module Case

The Delhi High Court granted bail to a man accused in a case registered under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act by the National Investigation Agency concerning allegations of acting as an operative of Harkat-ul-Harb-e-Islam, an affiliate outfit of ISIS.

A division bench comprising Justice Navin Chawla and Justice Arun Bhardwaj granted bail to Mohd Shahzad Kamal, who stands accused of participating in a conspiracy to arrange and channel terror funds from Saudi Arabia to support the module’s operations in India. A detailed order remains awaited.

Background and Custody Period

The High Court Bench allowed an appeal moved by Kamal challenging an order passed by a special court in late May that had rejected his bail application. The accused had remained in custody since late August, while statutory charges under the anti-terror law were framed against him the following August.

Allegations Leveled by the National Investigation Agency

According to the investigation conducted by the agency, Kamal allegedly provided monetary funds on multiple occasions between February and January to co-accused Mohd Absar to finance the activities of the group.

The prosecution further alleged that Kamal maintained regular contact with co-accused Md Saqib via Facebook and WhatsApp. The agency stated that retrieved message exchanges showed discussions regarding funds to be transferred or provided for extremist purposes. In addition, the agency claimed that digital communications indicated support for Tehreek-e-Azadi Jammu Kashmir and showed that Kamal was radicalized by the ideology of Jihad and the ISIS-affiliated Harkat-Ul-Harb-E-Islam network.

Arguments Raised on Behalf of the Accused

Kamal approached the court seeking bail on the grounds that neither the chargesheet nor the accompanying documents contained material capable of being converted into admissible legal evidence at trial.

The defense submitted that without substantive material that could be transformed into evidence during trial proceedings, the conclusion of the trial could lead to acquittal, thereby warranting relief.

Case Details and Legal Representation

• Case Title: Mohd. Shahzad Kamal versus National Investigation Agency

• Counsel for Appellant: Advocates Jawahar Raja, Archit Krishna, Tamanna Pankaj, Aditi Saraswat, Nitai Hinduja, Ashutosh Shukla, Ishan Goel, and Harshil Jain

• Counsel for National Investigation Agency: Special Public Prosecutor Rahul Tyagi with Advocates Jatin, Neha Tiwari, Abhay Pratap Semwal, and Avinash Kumar