A Delhi court has ordered the release of Kashmiri separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shah in a money laundering case linked to alleged terror funding, as reported by Live Law. The ruling was delivered by Additional Sessions Judge Dheeraj Mor at Patiala House Courts, who noted that Shah had already served the maximum seven-year sentence prescribed for the money laundering offence. Shah has been in custody since July 26, 2017.
The court cited Section 436A of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), which states that undertrial prisoners cannot be detained for longer than the maximum sentence for the alleged offence. Given this provision, the court determined that Shah was entitled to be released in this case.
Earlier in June, the same judge had granted Shah statutory bail, as he had already served more than half of the maximum sentence while awaiting trial.
Despite Tuesday’s release order, Shah will remain in jail due to two other cases filed against him by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED), as reported by The Hindu.
The NIA had registered a case in May 2017 against various separatist leaders in the Kashmir Valley, accusing them of receiving funds to incite unrest against India. Shah is alleged to have received money from Pakistan as part of this conspiracy.
Another prominent separatist leader, Yasin Malik, pleaded guilty in a similar terror funding case in May 2022 and was subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment. Abdul Rashid Sheikh, also known as Engineer Rashid, a former MP from Baramulla, has also been in jail since August 2019 in connection with the case.
