NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Friday permitted the Tihar Jail authorities to virtually present convicted Kashmiri separatist Yasin Malik before the court in the National Investigation Agency (NIA) probing case seeking the death penalty for Malik in a terror funding case.
A bench headed by Justice Siddharth Mridul said the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chief, who is presently serving a life term in the case, need not be produced in person and modified an earlier order seeking his physical presence while allowing an application by the jail superintendent citing security concerns.
"In view of the matter, the order dated May 29, 2023 is necessarily modified to the extent that the jail superintendent is directed to produce Yasin Malik in the present appeal through video conferencing alone on August 9 and not in person," ordered the bench, also comprising Justice Anish Dayal.
Earlier on May 29, the court issued warrants for the production of Malik, who is presently serving a life term in the case in Tihar jail, on August 9 when NIA's plea for enhancement of sentence is listed for hearing.
The Delhi government standing counsel informed the court there was an order by the President directing that Malik cannot be "moved from the Tihar Jail".
The Supreme Court also expressed its displeasure when he recently appeared before it in person, he added.
In the application, the jail authorities said Malik was a "very high-risk prisoner" and it was imperative to not physically produce him in court to maintain public order and safety.
Recently, the jailed separatist leader arrived at the Supreme Court in connection with a kidnapping case against him, prompting the Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta to flag the ''serious security lapse" to Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla.
Malik appeared before the top court bench on July 21 for the CBI's appeal against a September 20, 2022 order of a trial court in Jammu in the 1989 kidnapping of Rubaiya Sayeed, the daughter of the Union home minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. He was brought to the high-security apex court premises in a prison van escorted by armed security personnel without the court's permission.
On May 24, 2022, a trial court here awarded life imprisonment to Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front chief Malik after holding him guilty for various offences under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the IPC.
Malik had pleaded guilty to the charges, including those under the UAPA, and he was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.