Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Jan 28 : A Delhi Court has ordered attachment of the office of All Parties Hurriyat Conference at Raj Bagh, here.
Additional Sessions Judge, New Delhi district, Shaliender Malik, said the immoveable property i.e. building office of All Parties Hurriyat Conference is ordered to be attached.
The order passed by an NIA court in New Delhi was under the “NIA versus Mohammad Hafiz Saeed and others” case registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). In its application, the NIA said that there is sufficient evidence against Naeem Khan, the accused Hurriyat leader, who “partly owns the property”.
The agency submitted in the court that the “property was being used for planning and execution of terrorist and secessionist activities” and for other offences.
The agency invoked the provisions of Section 33 (1) of UAPA to seek attachment of the property.
The case has been registered under Sections of the Indian Penal Code 120B, 121, 121A, and several sections of the UAPA, including 18, 20, 38, 39, and 40, against Hafiz, a Pakistan-based militant, members of the APHC, proscribed militant organizations like Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), and others for “funding of separatist and terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir”.
The order, issued by Shailender Malik, Additional Session Judge New Delhi, read that Khan, who was arrested on July 24, 2017, is alleged to have raised, received, and collected funds “domestically as well as abroad through various channels including Hawala for funding separatist and terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir”.
Citing several judgments, the court noted that Section 24 expands the expression of the “proceeds of terrorism” and makes it clear that such expression shall also include “any property intended to be used for terrorism”.
The Court said that the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act-1967 does not in any manner hinder powers of court to attach any such property of which accused is facing trial under the UAPA of which he may be partly owner.
The court, however, added that the attachment in itself does not mean that there is any pre-trial conclusion regarding that property.
The Court further said that among the different allegations and evidence, it was also the case that office of APHC was the place where meetings were held to strategize different protests, funding activities of stone pelting on security forces, recruiting of unemployed youths to carry out unlawful activities as well as terrorist activities to create an unrest in the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir to wage war against the Government of India.
“In such situation taking into consideration the serious nature of the allegations as against A-5 itself, the fact that he is part owner of the property in question, cannot be a reason for not attaching the property when it is not even made clear as to who others were co-owners of that property,” the court said.
The NIA had moved an application seeking passing of an order for attachment of building office of All Parties Hurriyat Conference situated at Raj Bagh, Srinagar.
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