Delhi Court Sentences Two Hizb-ul Mujahideen Members To 12 Yrs, Others To 10 Yrs For Terror Funding, Waging War Against India

A Delhi Court on Monday sentenced two Hizb-ul Mujahideen members namely Mohd. Shafi Shah and Muzzafar Ahmad Dar to 12 years imprisonment while sentencing the other two men namely Talib Lali and Mushtaq Ahmad Lone to 10 years imprisonment for terror funding and waging war against the Government of India. 

Additional Sessions Judge Parveen Singh passed the order on sentence after the four were convicted under various provisions of IPC as well as UAPA. 

The case was lodged with allegations that Hizb-ul- Mujahideen (HM) had been regularly receiving funds originating from neighbouring countries for carrying out terrorist activities in India and that in the  garb of an organization namely, Jammu Kashmir Affectees Relief Trust (JKART), the said terrorist outfit was actively involved in furthering the terrorist activities in India.

Perusing the socio economic reports of the convicts, the Court opined thus:

"I find that the hand which provides the gun or the motivation to take up the gun is equally liable as the hand which ultimately fires that gun. The convicts, in this case, may not have been charged and convicted for any direct terror act leading to loss of life or property however, the proxy war in the State of J&K which has been raging since decades has resulted in loss of numerous lives and destruction of State property."

It was also observed that the convicts who were convicted for terror financing provided funds for the activities of HM which were used for the destruction of property and taking human lives.

"Thus, merely because, in the present case, the convicts were not directly responsible for loss of life and property, it cannot be accepted that they were not responsible for loss of life and destruction of property because of the terrorist activities of HM. On the contrary, I find that the funding network run by these convicts on the instructions of their handlers sitting in Pakistan had a greater responsibility for the terror acts committed by HM as in absence of such funding, which financed the cadres of HM and provided logistic support, it would not have been possible to commit those terror activities," the Court said. 

The Court was also of the view that the crimes for which the convicts were convicted were of very serious nature as they had hatched a conspiracy to strike at the core of the nation and actions were taken to execute that conspiracy.

Accordingly, while sentencing the four, the Court ordered that all the sentences shall run concurrently. 

"Benefit of section 428 Cr.P.C shall be given to the convict," it added. 

Title: NIA v. Mohammad Shafi Shah & Ors. 

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