The Supreme Court on Monday held as incorrect the judgement of the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court that an accused can be granted bail under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act if he does not present any “clear and present danger” to society.
The High Court judgement in November 2023, which granted bail to Kashmiri journalist Fahad Shah, had also held that lowering of India’s reputation globally cannot be considered a terrorist act within the ambit of Section 15 of the anti-terror Act.
The Supreme Court bench of Justices Bela Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma, however, did not overturn the bail granted to Shah, as he had already been out on bail for over a year and the trial had not yet started. The court said that the High Court order should not be cited as a precedent in other cases.
Shah, the editor-in-chief of the now-blocked news website The Kashmir Walla, was arrested in February 2022 under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act for allegedly glorifying terrorism through a “seditious” article.
He had been in jail for 21 months when he was granted bail in November 2023.
The High Court granted Shah bail observing that the case against him was dug out by the authorities after 11 years.
In its bail order, the High Court had quashed charges against Shah under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act pertaining to abeting a terrorist act, and under the Indian Penal Code pertaining to waging war against the government and promoting enmity between different groups.
However, Shah continues to face trial under Section 13 (incites unlawful activity) of the anti-terror law and Sections 35 and 39 of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act.
The journalist had been granted bail in February 2022 by a National Investigation Agency court.
However, hours after he got bail, Shah was arrested again on February 26 by the Shopian Police in another case related to provocation for riots. On March 5, 2022, he got bail but was arrested in a third matter immediately.
