Delhi: NIA seeks death penalty for Yasin Malik, hearing in Delhi High Court on May 29
New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday approached the Delhi High Court seeking the death penalty for Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief and prominent Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik. A division bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Talwant Singh is scheduled to hear the petition on May 29.
In May 2022, Malik, who has been convicted in the 2017 terror funding case, was sentenced to life imprisonment by a special NIA court here. Special Judge Praveen Singh pronounced the sentence under relevant sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act to run concurrently and for life.The crimes in the terror funding case were pronounced last year amid tight security at the Patiala House Court.During a trial court hearing last year, Malik had said, “I will not beg for anything.” The matter is before this court and I leave it to the court to decide.He had told the court, ‘If I have been involved in any terrorist activity or violence in 28 years, if Indian intelligence proves it, I will also retire from politics. I will accept the death sentence.. I have worked with seven prime ministers. The NIA told the court during the hearing that the accused was responsible for the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley. The probe agency had also argued for death penalty for Malik. On the other hand, the amicus curiae sought life imprisonment as the minimum punishment in the case.
Malik had earlier confessed his crime in this case. In the last hearing, he had told the court that he was under sections 16 (terrorist act), 17 (raising funds for terrorist act), 18 (conspiracy to commit terrorist act), and 20 (being a member of a terrorist gang or organization) of the UAPA. and is not contesting the charges under sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 124-A (sedition) of the Indian Penal Code.