Supreme Court Denies Yasin Malik’s Physical Production, Orders Cross-Examination via Video from Tihar Jail
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday refused to allow the physical production of jailed separatist leader Yasin Malik before a Jammu court, directing instead that he cross-examine prosecution witnesses via video conferencing from Tihar Jail.
A bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan issued the order while hearing a plea by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which sought the transfer of Malik’s trial in two high-profile cases—the 1989 kidnapping of Rubaiya Sayeed and the 1990 assassination of four Indian Air Force officials—from Jammu to New Delhi.
The court emphasized that the issue at hand was not about Malik’s political identity but the mode of his trial.
“We are not deciding whether you are a terrorist or a political leader. The only issue is whether you should be permitted to cross-examine the witnesses by video conference,” the bench told Malik, who appeared before the court through video conferencing from Tihar.
The top court took note of a December 2025 order by the central government under Section 303 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), which restricted Malik’s movement outside Delhi for a year due to security concerns.
Reports submitted by the Registrar General of the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court and the Tihar Jail Superintendent confirmed that both the special court in Jammu and Tihar Jail were equipped with video-conferencing facilities to facilitate the legal proceedings.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, cited serious security risks in transporting Malik to Jammu and supported the use of remote trial mechanisms.
The Supreme Court had earlier stayed a September 2024 order by the Additional Sessions Judge, Jammu (TADA/POTA), which had issued production warrants for Malik in the two separate cases.
The apex court had also directed the Registrar General of the J&K and Ladakh High Court to ensure seamless video connectivity for the conduct of Malik’s trial.
In earlier hearings, the bench had even proposed the idea of setting up a makeshift courtroom inside Tihar Jail to ensure fair and secure proceedings, noting that even Ajmal Kasab, the 26/11 convict, was given a fair trial.
Malik, the JKLF chief, is currently serving a sentence in Tihar Jail after being convicted in a terror-funding case by a special NIA court in May 2023.
The cases against him—the abduction of Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of former Union Home Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, and the killing of IAF personnel in Srinagar—remain among the most high-profile cases from the peak of militancy in Jammu and Kashmir.
