NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has granted the National Investigation Agency (NIA) additional four weeks to file its rejoinder in the agency’s appeal seeking the death penalty for illegally detained Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) Chairman Muhammad Yasin Malik, who is currently serving a life sentence in a politically motivated case.
A division bench of Justice Navin Chawla and Justice Ravinder Dudeja allowed the request made on behalf of the NIA, observing that the appellant’s counsel required more time to respond. The court has now listed the matter for further hearing on April 22.
During the proceedings, Special Public Prosecutor Akshai Malik, appearing for the NIA, sought additional time to file a reply to Yasin Malik’s detailed reply opposing the plea for enhancement of sentence.
The NIA has challenged the May 2022 trial court judgment that sentenced Yasin Malik to life imprisonment under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in the fake case. The trial court had ruled that the case did not fall within the “rarest of rare” category warranting capital punishment.
Muhammad Yasin Malik, a symbol of Kashmir’s political resistance, has been held in solitary confinement in Delhi’s Tihar Jail for years, during which his health has reportedly deteriorated. He has consistently described the case against him as politically motivated.
At the previous hearing in November 2025, the NIA had sought in-camera proceedings for the appeal. Yasin Malik, who appeared through video conferencing from Tihar Jail, had then complained of psychological distress due to a prolonged delay of nearly three years in adjudication of the appeal.
Earlier, in September, Malik filed an affidavit before the High Court asserting that he was not a “terrorist” and he had been engaged by successive Indian governments from the tenure of VP Singh to that of Manmohan Singh in peace initiatives concerning Kashmir.
He further said that he met leaders across the political spectrum, including Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and several opposition leaders, and that he led a signature campaign in IIOJK to promote non-violent democratic engagement, collecting over 1.5 million signatures.
In his affidavit, Malik declared that he was prepared to face the death penalty if imposed, drawing a comparison with executed Kashmiri liberation leader Mohammad Maqbool Butt.
