Delhi Court Remands Human Rights Activist Khurram Parvez To NIA Custody For 10 Days In UAPA Case

A Delhi Court on Wednesday remanded Kashmiri human rights activist Khurram Parvez to NIA custody for 10 days in a case registered under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in 2020.

Principal District & Sessions Judge Dharmesh Sharma also remanded Kashmiri journalist Irfan Mehraj to NIA’s custody in the same case. He was arrested by the probe agency on Monday from Srinagar.

NIA sought 12 days of remand for both Parvez and Mehraj. Both have been remanded to central agency’s custody till April 01. 

Mehraj was brought to Delhi after he was granted transit remand by a CJM in Jammu. The central agency contended that Mehraj had not been cooperating, and therefore, his arrest was necessitated.

The court said having regard to facts disclosed in NIA’s remand applications and also in order to “unearth incriminating material and other links concerning their unlawful activities” besides the aspect of confrontation with digital evidence, both the accused persons are remanded to NIA custody for 10 days.

NIA in a statement on Mehraj's arrest on Tuesday said, "Following comprehensive investigations into the NGO Terror funding case registered in October 2020, the National Investigation Agency arrested Irfan Mehraj from Srinagar (J&K) yesterday (20.03.2023). Irfan Mehraj was a close associate of Khurram Parvez and was working with his organization, Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Societies (JKCCS). Investigation revealed that the JKCCS was funding terror activities in the valley and had also been in propagation of secessionist agenda in the Valley under the garb of protection of human rights."

Mehraj was a researcher with the JKCCS till March 2022. Parvez, who was already in judicial custody in another UAPA case, was the coordinator of the rights group and has been accused by the NIA of providing "material support" to protestors in Kashmir during the 2016 agitation.

NIA has said that involvement of some valley-based NGOs, Trusts and Societies "in funding of terror related activities is being probed" in the 2020 case.

"Some NGOs, both registered as well as un-registered, have come to notice collecting funds domestically and abroad under the cover of doing charity and various welfare activities, including Public Health, Education etc. But some of these organisations have developed links with proscribed terrorist organizations, such as Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) etc," the NIA claimed. 

Advocates Tanveer Ahmed Mir, Kartik Venu, Swati Khanna and Fahad Khan appeared for Khurram Parvez. Advocate Rajat Kumar appeared for Irfan Mehraj. Public prosecutors Kanchan and Vishal Divedi represented NIA.