On January 12, 2026, the Supreme Court unsparingly criticized the NIA, direction to give hard evidence to support the case of a long pending custody of a Kashmiri separatist leader Shabir Ahmed Shah against terror funding and challenged the six years of detention without trial. Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta said: Prima facie we are not sympathetic of individuals engaging in such acts, but facts have to be made to show that detention beyond 6 years is justified. We can’t shut our eyes.” On the bench, the issue was adjourned to February 10, on which NIA counsel Siddharth Luthra is expected to produce speeches and full records of Shah.
Case Origins: Terror Funding Probe 2017.
Shah was arrested June 4, 2019, on UAPA charges of reportedly accepting hawala money, instilling secession through speeches, glorifying militants, and enabling cross-LoC trade to finance stone-pelting and violence. NIA asserts that Shah received 10 lakh rupees of co-accused Vani (162 lakh taken away), turned over stone-pelters to attorneys. In 2023, Delhi HC refused to grant bail on the basis of 24 pending cases and the possibility of tampering with witnesses.
Senior counsel Colin Gonsalves (defending Shah) contended that client need not recover, there was no call data record of the call and the old speeches did not contain the element of warfare. Co-defendant Vani found not guilty; Shah says 39 years of all-time jail time (NIA verifies 9 years). Medical reasons put forward-house arrest in Kashmir garden proposed.
Scrutiny of Courts Deepens.
SC’s tough questions:
| Issue | Shah’s Argument | NIA Response |
| Evidence Basis | Co-accused acquitted | Speeches, hawala |
| Detention Period | 6.5 years no trial | Serious UAPA indictments |
| Speech Circumstance | Political lament | Separatist incitement |
| Jail Time Total | 39 years claimed | 9 years verified. |
Court mentioned that NIA relied on the statement made by Vani although he was acquitted, drawing up half-complete records: “Some documents with ED/state police? Luthra sought time. Gonsalves referred to KA Najeeb (bail after 3.5 years); in this case 8 years (elapsed).
Separatist Leader’s Defence
Shah says he had meetings with 5 PMs (political dialogue), did not throw stones. There were speeches which complained about Kashmir, not violence speeches. No terror connections; ED case bailed. Age 70, health crisis cited.
NIA allegations:
- Hawala reception
- Militant glorification
- Stone-pelting facilitation
- Secessionist slogans
Implications and Legal Precedents.
Article 21 tension: Years-long UAPA detention vs. national security. Bail is required when trial delay is not reasonable (SC precedents). Shah 24 cases, pattern alert, HC looked in on a risk of a repeat offender.
Feb. 10 pivot: Final evidence might clinch the deal–interim relief or stay in custody. NIA is also under credibility tests with post-acquittals.
Kashmir Context
All Party Hurriyat Conference was headed by Shah and his Democratic Freedom Party (proscribed 2019). Separatist fundraising investigations stepped up after Article 370; 12 indicted in 2017 FIR. Since then, protests followed and Shah was incarcerated.
Politics: PDP wants Shah to be freed; BJP celebrates the implementation of UAPA. SC balances on a thin wire cable- security vs liberty.
Justice Mehta: Pen mightier than sword, so is the mike- Speech weaponized? The evidence mountain of NIA is big. The case of Shabir Shah challenges the balance of the judiciary in the grey zone of terror-separatism.
