J&K HC grants bail to PDP leader

Srinagar: The HC of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh granted bail to PDP leader Waheed Para, who was arrested by the NIA in a terror case in November 2020.

While granting bail to Para against a surety of Rs 1 lakh, a division bench of the High Court comprising Justice Sanjeev Kumar and Justice VC Koul laid down several conditions on the PDP leader.

The court directed Para to present himself before the investigating officer as and when required to, surrender his passport to the investigating officer of the case and not leave the Union Territory of J&K without the prior permission of the trial court.

Para, perhaps, has become the first person to benefit from the SC putting on hold trial of cases under section 124 A.

The division bench listed the apex court ruling as one of the mitigating factors while allowing Para's appeal for bail.

Regarding the sedition charges under Section 124-A IPC, the issue is governed by the recent judgment of the Supreme Court in the case of S.G. Vombatkere vs. Union of India, 2022 LiveLaw (SC) 470, whereby the Supreme Court has directed that all the pending trials, appeals and proceedings with respect to the charge framed under Section 124-A of IPC shall be kept in abeyance, the court observed.