NEW DELHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday urged the Delhi High Court to hold in-camera proceedings in its appeal seeking a death sentence for Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik, convicted in a 2017 terror funding case.
A bench of Justices Vivek Chaudhary and Manoj Jain said it would consider the request after NIA’s counsel, Special Public Prosecutor Akshai Malik, sought that the hearing be conducted privately and that only a restricted virtual link be provided. Appearing before the court through video conferencing from Tihar jail, Malik claimed he had been subjected to “psychological torture” due to the prolonged delay of nearly three years in deciding the appeal. The court listed the matter for hearing on January 28.
Malik, chief of the banned Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front, is serving a life sentence in Tihar jail after being convicted under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and various provisions of the Indian Penal Code. On May 24, 2022, a Delhi court sentenced him to life imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to all charges, including those relating to terror funding & criminal conspiracy.