New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday sought responses from Hurriyat Conference leader Yasin Malik and others regarding a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) plea to transfer trials in two cases from Jammu to New Delhi.
A bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih issued notices and sought response by December 18.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued that Malik’s physical presence in the Jammu court was unnecessary as Tihar Jail is equipped with a courtroom and video-conferencing facilities.
The plea challenges a September 20, 2022, Jammu TADA court order mandating Malik’s physical production for cross-examining witnesses in the 1989 kidnapping case of Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of former Home Minister Mufti of India Mohammad Sayeed.
The bench suggested the trial could occur within the jail premises or in Delhi, citing security concerns. It highlighted that even Mumbai attack convict Ajmal Kasab was accorded a fair trial under similar constraints.
The CBI contends that Malik, the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chief serving a life term in a militancy-funding case, poses a national security threat. The agency also invoked Section 268 of the CrPC, allowing state governments to restrict prisoner transfers.
Malik was sentenced in May 2023 by a special NIA court and remains incarcerated in Tihar Jail.
