HC nixes NIA plea, upholds bail to J&K terror conspiracy accused

NEW DELHI: Delhi high court has dismissed NIA's appeal against a trial court order granting bail to an alleged over ground worker in J&K, Mateen Ahmed Bhat, in a terror conspiracy case.A bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Arun Bhardwaj held that the trial court had passed the order after properly considering the restrictions on grant of bail under UAPA and examining whether the accusations against Bhat were prima facie true.The court further said neither was the bail order a final conclusion on the evidence nor did it discharge the accused. The subsequent framing of charges against Bhat was also deemed irrelevant by the bench while deciding NIA's appeal.The case relates to an alleged larger conspiracy involving the activities of proscribed terrorist organisations and the use of online platforms and local operatives to spread unrest in J&K.The high court observed that an appeal against the grant of bail has a limited scope and interference is warranted where the bail order is shown to be illegal, perverse, arbitrary or based on irrelevant considerations.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.