“Separatist leader from Jammu and Kashmir Yasin Malik pleaded guilty before the NIA court”

Malik pleaded guilty to charges under Sections 16 (terrorist act), 17 (raising funds for the terrorist act), 18 (conspiracy to commit terrorist act), and 20 (being member of terrorist gang or organisation) of the UAPA and sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 124-A (sedition) of the IPC.

Jammu and Kashmir separatist leader Mohammad Yasin Malik on Tuesday pleaded guilty to all charges, including those under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), before a Delhi court in a case related to alleged terrorism and secessionist activities that disturbed the Valley in 2017. Special Judge Praveen Singh will hear on May 19 the arguments regarding quantum of sentence for offences levelled against Malik, in which the maximum punishment is life imprisonment. A detailed order in the matter is awaited. The court formally framed charges against other Kashmiri separatist leaders, including Farooq Ahmed Dar; Shabbir Shah; Masarat Alam; Md Yusuf Shah; Aftab Ahmad Shah; Altaf Ahmad Shah; Nayeem Khan; Md Akbar Khanday; Raja Mehrajuddin Kalwal etc. While framing charges in the matter in March, the court had said that prima facie, it is established that Shabir Shah, Yasin Malik, Rashid Engineer, Altaf Fantoosh, Masrat and Hurriyat/Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) were direct recipients of terror funds.The court also noted that prima facie there existed a criminal conspiracy pursuant to which large-scale protests, resulting in violence and arson at a massive scale, were orchestrated. Yasin Malik did not have a lawyer in this case, but the amicus curaie appointment by the court confirmed that the accused was not contesting the charges levelled against him.