HC grants bail to pro-ISIS group member in UAPA case

The Delhi High Court on Thursday granted bail to Mohammad Shahzad Kamal, an alleged member of a pro-ISIS group called Harkat-ul-Harb-E-Islam in a case under the anti-terror law. 

A bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Arun Bhardwaj said the accused has been in custody for more than five years and the case against him does not warrant continued incarceration as the trial is not likely to end anytime soon.
Kamal, who was arrested on August 31, 2021 by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in a case registered in 2018 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), approached the high court after the trial court rejected his bail plea on May 29, 2024.

“The impugned order passed by the learned trial court cannot be sustained and is accordingly set aside. The appellant is directed to be released on bail,” the court ordered.

According to the NIA, Kamal, along with other co-accused, entered into a criminal conspiracy to commit terrorist acts and wilfully abetted in providing funds for “jihadi activities” of the Harkat-ul-Harb-E-Islam, a terrorist gang affiliated with the proscribed organisation ISIS.

Kamal allegedly provided funds on multiple occasions to carry out terrorist activities.
The court directed the accused’s release on a personal bond of `50,000 and two sureties in the like amount. It also imposed several conditions on him, including surrendering his passport and not leaving his native place in Uttar Pradesh’s Hapur, except to travel to Delhi to attend his trial or report to the NIA office.

The court directed him not to make any public statement in relation to the case or participate in any activity that may prejudice public order or the integrity of the trial or disseminate any anti-national material on any social media platform or otherwise.