The Chairman of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front, Mohammed Yasin Malik has pleaded guilty before Delhi court in a case related to militancy and secessionist activities in Jammu Kashmir, PTI reported.
On the last date of hearing on March 19, the court ordered the framing of charges against Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed, Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin and others for hatching a criminal conspiracy, waging war against the country, and other unlawful activities.
Yasin Malik, 54, is lodged in New Delhi’s Tihar Jail after he was arrested under the Public Safety Act in March 2019, but a month later his custody was shifted to National Investigation Agency (NIA) in a two-year-old case of “militant and separatist funding”.
Court sources quoted by PTI said, Malik told the court that he was not contesting the charges levelled against him including section 16 (terrorist act), 17 (raising funds for the terrorist act), 18 (conspiracy to commit terrorist act), and 20 (being member of terrorist gang or organisation) of the UAPA and sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 124-A (sedition) of the Indian Penal Code.
Special Judge Praveen Singh will hear on May 19 the arguments regarding the quantum of sentence for the offences levelled against Malik in which the maximum punishment is life imprisonment.
The court, meanwhile, formally framed the charges against other Kashmiri separatist leaders including Farooq Ahmed Dar alias Bitta Karate, Shabbir Shah, Masarat Alam, Md Yusuf Shah, Aftab Ahmad Shah, Altaf Ahmad Shah, Nayeem Khan, Md Akbar Khanday, Raja Mehrajuddin Kalwal, Bashir Ahmad Bhat, Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali, Shabir Ahmad Shah, Abdul Rashid Sheikh, and Naval Kishore Kapoor.
The charge sheet was also filed against Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed and Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin, who have been declared proclaimed offenders (PO) in the case.