Delhi High Court grants bail to Kashmiri rights activist Khurram Parvez in UAPA case

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday granted bail to Kashmiri human rights activist Khurram Parvez in a case registered against him by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for alleged terror funding, conspiracy and recruiting persons for the terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

A Division Bench of Justice Navin Chawla and Ravinder Dudeja said that it has granted bail to Parvez subject to certain conditions.

A detailed copy of the judgment is awaited.

Parvez was arrested by the NIA on November 22, 2021. The trial court denied him bail on December 17, 2024. On December 24, 2024, he approached the High Court.

According to NIA, Parvez was part of a wider Lashkar-e-Taiba-linked conspiracy to wage war against India by supporting terrorist activities through a network of overground workers. Investigators claim he recruited operatives, gathered information on security forces and military installations and played a role in mobilising protests following militant commander Burhan Wani's killing in 2016.

Parvez argued that he is a human rights activist and was the Programme Coordinator and Spokesperson of the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) and also the Chairperson of the Philippines-based Asian Federation against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD), which campaigns on the issue of enforced disappearances.

In his appeal, Parvez said that he was a factual stranger to the alleged conspiracy and that the investigators had failed to establish any contact between him and LeT operatives or members of any banned organisation. He stated that an examination of digital devices seized from him revealed no communication with alleged handlers or evidence of recruitment of overground workers.

He also rejected the allegations that his past visits to Pakistan demonstrate links with proscribed organisations, stating that the trips were undertaken publicly as part of humanitarian and advocacy initiatives, including campaigns against landmines and enforced disappearances.

Senior Advocate Tanveer Ahmed Mir with advocates Swati Khanna, Raminder Kaur, Md Imran Ahmad and Shahzad Khan appeared for Khuram Parvez.

The bail plea was filed through advocate Kartik Venu.