[Terror Funding Case] Hizb-ul-Mujahideen's Members Approach Delhi HC To Restore Calling Facilities in Jail

The sons of the chief of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, Syed Ahmad Shakeel and Syed Shahid Yusuf, approached the Delhi High Court seeking directions to restore their phone call facility in prison. The bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyay and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela listed the matter for May 22, 2025, along with similar petitions.

Both individuals were arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with a terror funding case involving hawala transactions and were lodged in the Delhi Prisons. They challenged the restrictions reportedly imposed by the jail authorities on their communication rights.

They contested the applicability of Delhi Jail Rule 631, which limited communication facilities for individuals accused in terror-related cases in the interest of public safety and order. The rule permitted the Jail Superintendent to make exceptions on a case-by-case basis, subject to prior approval from the Deputy Inspector General (Range).

Their counsel submitted that several other undertrial accused in terror-related cases had also approached the High Court, alleging that their phone call privileges were arbitrarily curtailed by prison officials.

Background:

Seven individuals had been charged in the case. Ghulam Mohammed Bhat and three others were charged in 2011. Syed Shahid Yusuf, another son of Salahuddin, was arrested in 2017 and charged in 2018 for allegedly receiving funds from the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen through international channels.

Shakeel was accused of receiving money via Western Union from absconding accused Aijaz Ahmad Bhat and of raising funds for the group through its cadres based in Saudi Arabia. A non-bailable warrant had been issued against him after he failed to respond to a summons for questioning. He was subsequently brought to Delhi for custodial interrogation and was produced before the NIA Special Court.

Updates in Connected Cases

The Delhi High Court, in April 2025, rejected the bail application of Nayeem Ahmad Khan, another accused in a terror funding case linked to separatist activities in Jammu and Kashmir. The bench of Justice Navin Chawla and Justice Shalinder Kaur held, “a perusal of the statement of witnesses, including protected witnesses, present a grave picture of a larger conspiracy threatening the unity and integrity of our Nation, thus, the grant of bail to the Appellant would be detrimental to the security and safety of the public at large and the same cannot be simply ignored by this Court”.

[Inputs: ANI News]