Supreme Court grants bail to Suhail Ahmad Thokar in terror conspiracy case

The Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to Suhail Ahmad Thokar in connection with case involving allegations of a larger conspiracy to facilitate terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir following the repeal of Article 370 of the Constitution..A Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi granted bail subject to various conditions. The Court warned that the violation of any bail condition would result in the cancellation of Thokar's bail and his return to the custody of the National Investigation Agency (NIA)..The bail order was passed on Thokar's appeal challenging the Delhi High Court's refusal to grant him bail.Thokar was among those accused of being involved in a conspiracy to influence and radicalise youth in Jammu and Kashmir to engage in terrorist activities following the revocation of Article 370 of the Constitution of India, which had earlier conferred a special status to the then-State of Jammu and Kashmir. .The NIA alleged that the conspiracy was orchestrated by violent and banned terrorist groups, including Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-E-Mohammed (JeM), Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM), Al-Badr, and others, including leaders in Pakistan and over-the-ground workers in India. The alleged objective was to recruit and train susceptible young individuals to particiapte in acts of terrorism, which included handling weapons, ammunition, and explosive materials.The NIA claimed that the conspiracy was conceived after the revocation of Article 370, with the objective of reigniting acts of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir, as well as in other regions of India. The NIA added that to accomplish their malevolent objectives, a central organization known as the “United Jihad Council” was also established. This was done under the guidance and support of Pakistan's intelligence agency, the NIA had submitted during arguments before the Delhi High Court. Thokar was accused of playing an active role in providing refuge to members of terrorist organisations involved in the alleged terror plot. He was arrested in October 2021. 25 persons were named in the chargesheet filed in the case. In September 2023, the Delhi High Court opined that prima facie, there were reasonable grounds to believe that the allegations against Thokar were true. It concluded that he did not satisfy the tests needed for the grant of bail in cases registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), and dismissed his bail plea. Thokar filed an appeal before the Supreme Court in 2024 seeking bail, which has been allowed subject to various conditions today.