Supreme Court Sets Deadline for Yasin Malik's Response in High-Profile Terror Cases

The Supreme Court has given JKLF chief Yasin Malik and others two weeks to respond to a plea for transferring their trial in two terror cases from Jammu to Delhi. The cases involve the killing of IAF personnel and kidnapping of Rubaiya Sayeed. The court emphasized the need to hear all accused.

The Supreme Court has granted Yasin Malik, leader of the banned Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, and five other accused, a two-week window to reply to a plea from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) seeking to move their trial.

The cases under review involve the 1990 killing of four Indian Air Force personnel and the 1989 abduction of Rubaiya Sayeed, the daughter of then Union Home Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed. The bench, comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Manmohan, seeks replies by January 20, 2025, highlighting that all accused should be heard before any trial transfer.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta suggested that Yasin Malik, currently serving a life sentence in Tihar jail, need not be physically present for trials due to video conferencing facilities available within the prison. The court is reassessing a 2022 Jammu court's order requiring Malik's physical presence to cross-examine witnesses involved in Rubaiya Sayeed's case.

(With inputs from agencies.)