Yasin Malik (Kashmiri Separatist Leader), Sentenced to Life Imprisonment - Delhi Special Court

CASE: NIA v. Yasin Malik

Yasin Malik, leader of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front and a Kashmiri separatist, was sentenced to life imprisonment by a Special National Investigation Agency (NIA) Court in Delhi on Wednesday in a terror funding case.

Malik had pleaded guilty to the charges and was convicted on May 19 by Special Judge Parveen Singh of charges under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and conspiracy and waging war against India under the Indian Penal Code (IPC). This includes two life sentences and varying jail terms, which will all run concurrently. The Court, however, earlier rejected NIA's plea for the death penalty by stating that the case did not fall in the rarest of rare categories. 

The amicus curiae were reported to have visited the accused in jail to provide a legal consultation, so that the accused could be informed of the maximum punishment that could be awarded to him if he entered into a plea of guilty, and the pros and cons of entering into a plea of guilty.

Thereafter, Malik pleaded guilty to the charges framed against him.

The Court noted that Malik had voluntarily pleaded guilty to the charges, after due legal consultation and with full knowledge of the consequences.

Background

Malik was accused by the NIA for orchestrating violent protests in 2016 when 89 cases of stone-pelting were reported. Earlier, the Court noted that it was prima facie established that Malik, Masrat, Shabir Shah, Rashid Engineer, Altaf Fantoosh, and Hurriyat/Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) were involved in the criminal conspiracy pursuant to which largescale protests, resulting in violence were orchestrated in the Valley.