Early Times Report
Jammu, Apr 13: In a significant order in the high-profile NIA case linked to alleged terror conspiracy, the Court of Special Judge NIA Cases, Jammu, Prem Sagar declined bail to former J&K Police officer Devinder Singh, observing that there was a specific statutory bar under Section 43-D(5) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and that the material available on record indicated his alleged involvement in the conspiracy.
The order was passed by Special Judge Prem Sagar in the case titled National Investigating Agency vs Syed Naveed Mushtaq & Ors. Counsel appearing in the matter were Adv. S K Rao for the applicant and SPP Adv. K.S. Pathania for the NIA.
According to the prosecution version recorded in the order, Devinder Singh, then posted as a DySP in J&K Police, was apprehended on January 11, 2020, along with three others, including alleged Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists, after a naka at Al-Stop on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway. The order records that a Hyundai i20 vehicle was intercepted and a large cache of arms and ammunition was allegedly recovered during the operation.
In his bail plea, Singh claimed false implication and stated that he had served in anti-terror operations for years, had participated in around 200 such operations, and had suffered serious bullet injuries in 1998 during an anti-terror operation in Budgam, leaving him disabled. He also pleaded long incarceration since January 11, 2020, argued that only a limited number of witnesses had been examined so far, and contended that there was no direct recovery from his conscious possession.
The NIA, however, opposed the plea, asserting that earlier regular and interim bail pleas had already been rejected by the trial court as well as by the High Court of J&K and Ladakh. The agency told the court that the High Court had dismissed Criminal Appeals on February 25, 2025 and August 4, 2025, while the trial court had earlier dismissed bail applications on December 24, 2022, December 11, 2023 and October 13, 2025. The prosecution argued that repeated bail pleas without change in circumstances amounted to abuse of process.
The prosecution further alleged that Singh, a serving police officer at the relevant time, had entered into a conspiracy with co-accused persons, including alleged Hizbul Mujahideen militants, and had provided support to them. The order notes the NIA’s case that charges had already been framed against him under serious provisions of the IPC, UAPA, Arms Act and Explosive Substances Act, and that he had not challenged the order framing charges.
While considering the plea, the court referred to the legal embargo contained in Section 43-D(5) of the UAPA and relied on settled law that in such cases the ordinary principle of “bail is the rule, jail is the exception” does not apply in the usual manner. The court observed that if accusations under Chapters IV or VI of the UAPA appear prima facie true, bail must ordinarily be refused.
The court also noted that the trial was already under way, witnesses were being examined regularly, and 23 witnesses had been fully examined. It recorded that the material on record indicated the applicant’s alleged involvement in furtherance of the conspiracy and held that, if released, there was every likelihood that he could influence key witnesses and hamper the course of justice.
With these observations, the court declined to grant bail to Devinder Singh, dealing another setback to the former police officer in one of the Union Territory’s most closely watched terror-related prosecutions. (JNF) |
