Delhi High Court refuses to stay bail of Khurram Parvez, Irfan Mehraj but imposes stricter conditions

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday refused to stay the bail granted to Kashmiri human rights activist Khurram Parvez and journalist Irfan Mehraj in the 2020 terror funding case registered under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).

A Division Bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Vikas Mahajan noted that the allegations against Parvez and Mehraj are "extremely serious" but since the trial court has granted them bail and imposed stringent restrictions, the High Court will not stay the same.

However, the High Court imposed certain additional bail conditions on the two accused.

"The absence of findings in the trial court order requires consideration of this Court," the Bench said.

It added that the precedent relied upon by the trial court shall not be relied upon in any other case since they are under consideration of the High Court.

The case will be heard in detail in August.

Principal District and Sessions Judge Pitamber Dutt of the Patiala House Courts granted bail to Parvez and co-accused journalist Irfan Mehraj on July 18 in the UAPA case lodged in 2020.

Notably, Parvez had already secured bail from the Delhi High Court in a separate 2021 case. The trial court's July 18 order effectively paved the way for his release from prison.

The NIA challenged the trial court's order before the High Court, which issued notices to Parvez and Mehran on July 20.

Parvez, a prominent Kashmiri human rights activist and coordinator of the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), has been in NIA custody since November 2021.

While he was initially arrested in a 2021 UAPA terror conspiracy case, the agency formally arrested him again in March 2023 in a separate case stemming from an October 2020 FIR alleging that NGOs, trusts and societies in Jammu and Kashmir had diverted funds raised in the name of charitable and welfare activities to support terrorist organisations, including Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Hizbul Mujahideen (HM).

The NIA also alleged that Parvez provided "material support" to protesters during the 2016 Kashmir unrest. These allegations have been denied by Parvez.