Overview
- Additional Sessions Judge Amit Bansal acquitted Jamsheed Zahoor Paul and Parvaiz Rashid of UAPA Sections 18 and 20 and Arms Act charges, ordering their release after the prosecution failed to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt.
- The court said FIR numbers appearing on seizure memos and the site plan cast serious doubt on the timing and genuineness of the alleged recovery of pistols and cartridges.
- Investigators did not join independent witnesses despite the busy arrest location near Jama Masjid, which the court said undermined the prosecution’s version of events.
- Mobile phones seized from the accused remained unsealed in police custody for nearly two months before forensic analysis, leading the court to reject reliance on alleged BBM chat screenshots and other electronic data.
- In a separate NIA case, the Delhi High Court granted bail to Haris Nisar Langoo and Zamin Adil Bhat after over four years in custody, citing their limited alleged roles, the distinction between ideology and operational acts, and Article 21 concerns, with strict conditions attached.