Kashmiri separatist leader Shabir Shah gets bail; to stay in jail in other cases

New Delhi/Srinagar, June 15 (IANS) A court in Delhi granted statutory bail to the separatist Kashmiri leader, Shabir Shah recently in a money laundering case, but he will continue to remain in jail because of other cases pending against him.

Shah was arrested in 2017 and he sought bail on the ground that he had served more than half the period of the maximum sentence for the offence he was charged with.

Dheeraj Mor, additional sessions judge granted bail to Shah under section 436 A of CrPC while imposing the condition that the bailed-out accused would not leave the country without the court’s permission.

While granting bail, the court observed that the pending cases against the accused were of a very serious nature.

“However, that cannot be a sufficient ground for declining the present statutory bail application, all the more, when he has not been convicted in any of the said offences,” the court observed.

Despite getting statutory bail in this case, Shah is unlikely to be released from jail for other offences for which he is under detention.

The counsel for the ED argued that if released on bail the accused may run away from justice. His previous conduct shows that there is a strong propensity for him to flee from the country.