NIA court takes cognisance in alleged terror-funding case against human rights defender Irfan Mehraj

Delhi police filed a chargesheet against Srinagar-based human rights defender and freelance journalist Irfan Mehraj on September 15, 179 days after he was arrested. However, the court took cognisance today, almost a month later.

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TODAY, a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court at Patiala House took cognisance of the chargesheet filed by the NIA against Irfan Mehraj in an alleged terror-funding case.

Mehraj is a Srinagar-based freelance journalist and human rights defender who works with Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), one of the only functional organisations in Kashmir that documents human rights abuses by Indian armed forces and militants belonging to various local and Pakistan-supported outfits.

Mehraj was arrested by the NIA on March 20 this year under the anti-terror legislation Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA) along with charges of sedition.

As per Section 43D(2)(b), the maximum period to investigate and file a chargesheet under the UAPA is 180 days. This provision is an exception to the usual 90 and 60 days prescribed under Section 167 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1967, in cases where the offence is punishment with death, or imprisonment with life or imprisonment for not less than ten years and any other offence, respectively.

According to Section 167(2)(a), after the expiry of ninety days, the accused person shall be released on bail.

In Arnab Goswami's case, where a first information report (FIR) had been filed against the journalist in an abetment to suicide case, the Supreme Court granted interim bail to Arnab Goswami in a dramatic late-night hearing, observing that "deprivation of liberty even for a single day is one day too many".

In another case, where journalist Teesta Setalvad urgently approached the Supreme Court after the Gujarat High Court denied bail and ordered her to surrender immediately, a three-judge Bench came to her rescue and granted her protection from arrest. This happened after a two-judge Bench of the Supreme Court failed to agree on granting her the protection. 

The court questioned the high court's Order and asked whether someone whose liberty is at stake should not be granted even a day to seek judicial protection against arrest.

Since the UAPA is a special law whose provisions are stringent in nature, the existing legal construction suggests that it must be construed even more strictly than normal criminal procedure.

In Mehraj's case, the court has taken cognisance of the chargesheet 26 days after the 180 day period was over.

Mehraj is also the founding editor of Wande magazine, an online magazine of long-form writing which covers critical issues like women's resistance to the militarisation of the Kashmir valley.

The NIA has alleged that Mehraj is a "close associate" of Khurram Parvez, a prominent human rights activist of J&K who helms one of the managerial roles within JKCCS. Parvez is facing similar charges and has been detained for more than sixteen months.

According to the NIA, Mehraj was involved in "funding terror activities" through the JKCCS and propagating a "secessionist agenda" under the garb of protection of human rights.

Mehraj's arrest has been widely condemned, including by the human rights organisation People's Union of Civil Liberty (PUCL) and the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development.

PUCL's statement read: "The timing and method of the arrest of Mehraj make it apparent that he was detained for continuing to research police and military excesses and for exercising his journalistic duty of speaking truth to power."

The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders Mary Lawlor, in a statement said that the arrest appears to be a way of intensifying the long-standing repression of Kashmiri civil society.

The next hearing in Mehraj's case is on October 16 and it is expected that a copy of the chargesheet will be shared with him soon.