Srinagar, Dec 31: The TADA/POTA Special Court designated under the NIA Act in Srinagar has acquitted three accused in a case involving alleged possession and transportation of hand grenades, AK-47 magazine, ammunition and cash, observing serious procedural lapses and lack of corroborative evidence.
The case arose from FIR No. 154/2022, registered on October 10, 2022 at Police Station Batmaloo, after a Naka party claimed to have apprehended three suspects near the Command Post, Batmaloo. Police had alleged that the accused attempted to flee, and upon search, two live hand grenades, one AK-47 magazine, 30 live rounds of AK-47, and ₹47,500 (95 notes of ₹500 denomination) were recovered. The accused were identified as Wajid Ahmad Bhat S/o Mohammad Altaf Bhat, resident of Hawoora, Kulgam; Masrat Bilal Bhuru S/o Abdul Aziz Bhuru, resident of Matalhama, Kulgam; and Rameez Ahmad Dar S/o Nazir Ahmad Dar, also resident of Matalhama, Kulgam.
A chargesheet was filed under Section 7/25 Arms Act and Sections 13, 23, 39 UAPA. During the investigation, some sections including the Explosive Substances Act and Section 20 UAPA were later dropped due to insufficient evidence. Currency certificates confirmed the cash to be genuine.
During the trial, the prosecution examined 11 police and bomb-disposal witnesses. The defence, however, contested the case on key grounds including contradictory statements on recovery, discrepancies in names, failure to record identifying marks, unsealed explosives, non-preservation of seal impressions, and absence of civilian or CRPF witnesses despite their admitted availability.
The defence also argued that the alleged disclosures of accused regarding links with banned organisation Al-Badr remained uncorroborated, with no recovery or digital or financial trail establishing terrorist intent.
The accused were represented by Defence Counsel Advocate Mir Urfi and Advocate Waheed Ahmad Dar who collectively pressed for acquittal citing failure of prosecution to meet the standard of proof required in terror-linked offences.
The court, relying on Supreme Court precedents including Amarjit Singh vs State of Punjab (1995) and Sahib Singh vs State of Punjab (1997), held that non-sealing of weapons and missing chain-of-custody links are serious infirmities affecting the weight of evidence.
Delivering the judgment, Special Judge Manjeet Rai, according to news agency Kashmir Dot Com observed that the prosecution failed to prove conscious, unauthorised possession of arms or establish nexus with any unlawful or terrorist activity beyond reasonable doubt, extending the benefit of doubt to the accused.
The court ordered that the accused Wajid Ahmad Bhat, Masrat Bilal Bhuru, and Rameez Ahmad Dar from Kulgam district be released forthwith, if not required in any other case.
It further ruled that the seized cash shall be dealt with in accordance with law after expiry of the appeal period, while the alleged arms and ammunition shall be confiscated to the State and disposed of as per rules once the judgment attains finality. (KDC)