Delhi HC dismisses NSCN-IM leader Alemla Jamir’s statutory bail plea

New Delhi, 3 May (MTNews): The Delhi High Court this week denied default bail to National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN-IM) leader Alemla Jamir, arrested in a terror funding case probed by National Investigation Agency.

A division bench of Justice Siddharth Mridul and Justice Talwant Singh dismissed Jamir’s appeal challenging an order passed by Special NIA court on 03 July 2020 dismissing her application seeking release on statutory bail on the ground that the charge sheet was filed within the limitation period.

However, the HC stated that there was no illegality or infirmity in the orders passed by the trial court from time to time regarding the detention of Jamir.

“In our view it is too late in the day for the appellant to raise the issue of filing an incomplete charge-sheet as the case has already progressed much further and has reached to the stage where part evidence has already been recorded and it implies that the charge-sheet filed against the present appellant is complete charge-sheet, so there is no question of grant of default bail,” Live Law quoted the court as saying.

The case was lodged after Jamir was intercepted at the Delhi airport on 17 December 2019 while she was about to travel by air to Dimapur, and was found carrying Rs 72 lakh.

Since she could not explain her source of cash, the NIA alleged that the information was passed on to the Income Tax Department after which she was interrogated under Section 131(1A) of the Income Tax Act.

As per NIA, the cash belonged to “National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak Muivah faction” and the same was handed over to her by an associate to be taken to Dimapur, Nagaland.

The NIA also claimed that Jamir’s air tickets were arranged in the direction of Muivah. Her husband was a relative of Muivah and he was a steering committee member of NSCN-IM and earlier its commander-in-chief. This money was to be used for carrying out terrorist operations in India, it alleged.

Before the High Court, Jamir’s counsel sought her release on statutory bail on the ground that after filing of the charge sheet on 11 June 2020, no order was passed remanding her to custody even on the adjourned date.

Jamir had objected that there was no valid judicial remand order available on the court file as on 3 July 2020 after taking cognizance to her and a co-accused for an offence punishable under various provisions of the UAPA and the Arms Act.

The high court said that “after taking cognizance, unless and until a bail order is passed, in our view, the under trial has to remain in judicial custody and as it was not possible for the accused to be produced before the special court because of the Covid restrictions, her remand was rightly extended by the duty metropolitan magistrate as per the directions issued from time to time by the higher judicial authorities keeping in view the prevailing circumstances.”