3 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Jun 10, 2026 07:38 PM IST
Underlining that bail is the rule and its denial an exception, the Delhi High Court Wednesday granted bail to Kashmiri human rights activist Khurram Parvez in a 2021 terror case. The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which filed the case, had accused him of recruiting overground workers for the banned terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba.
Parvez will, however, continue to remain in jail, owing to a 2020 NIA case also under the stringent anti-terror law. His bail plea in the second case is pending before the trial court.
Observing that the trial in the case is at the stage of arguments for framing of charges, and that the prosecution intends to examine 197 witnesses in case charges are framed, the court recorded that there “is no likelihood of the trial ending soon”.
“(Allegations) must be tested against the long period of incarceration of (Parvez), the fact that there is no likelihood of the trial ending soon, as also against the yardstick of bail being the rule, while denial thereof being an exception. (Parvez’s) rights (to liberty)… need to be balanced and may even trump the restriction imposed under Section 43D(5) of the UAPA,” the bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Ravinder Dudeja said.
While granting Parvez bail, the bench also took into account that he is infirm “and deserves special consideration”. In 2004, Parvez had lost a leg in a landmine blast, resulting in permanent disability.
As part of his bail conditions, Parvez has been directed to not leave NCT of Delhi without prior permission of the court and “not upload/share/disseminate or circulate any anti-national material on any social media platform or otherwise”.
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The two cases
In November 2021, the NIA arrested Parvez for offences of waging war against the state, criminal conspiracy, as well as for allegedly raising funds for terror funding under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The FIR in this case was lodged on November 6, 2021. Parvez was arrested on November 22, 2021.
Earlier, in 2020, the NIA lodged a case accusing NGOs of terror funding by allegedly diverting funds meant for charitable activities to “secessionist and separatist activities” in Jammu and Kashmir. This case was registered on October 8, 2020, under various sections of the IPC and the UAPA. While Parvez was not named initially, he was subsequently arrested in this case in March 2023.
In 2016, Parvez was arrested under the Public Safety Act and spent 76 days in custody.
