The Supreme Court asked Kashmiri separatist Yasin Malik to respond to a CBI plea to shift his case to Tihar Jail, where he is currently lodged. He is undergoing trial on charges of killing an Indian Air Force (IAF) officer and abducting former Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed in 1989.
The solicitor general Tushar Mehta told the bench comprising Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih that the application to transfer the case to Tihar jail has been submitted and they are waiting for Malik’s response. Mehta said that the Tihar Jail has a fully functional courtroom facility.
The court sought a response from the accused and fixed the matter for consideration on December 18.
On November 21, the Supreme Court remarked that it may set up a courtroom inside Tihar Jail for Malik’s trial.
The bench was hearing a CBI plea against the September 20, 2022 order of a Jammu trial court that directed Malik to be produced before it physically to cross-examine the prosecution witnesses.
“How will cross-examination be done online? There is hardly any connectivity in Jammu… In our country, a fair trial was given even to Ajmal Kasab and legal assistance was given to him in the High Court,” the bench had remarked then.
Mehta pointed out security concerns and said Malik couldn’t be taken to Jammu for the trial. He accused Malik of “playing tricks” for having asked to appear personally and not engaging a lawyer. Mehta said Malik was not an ordinary criminal and showed a purported photograph of Malik sharing the dais with terrorist Hafiz Saeed.
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