Kashmir Journalist Asif Sultan Granted Bail in 5-Year-Old UAPA Case

New Delhi: Award-winning Kashmiri journalist Asif Sultan, 37, who was arrested under a UAPA case two days after being released after five years in jail in a different case, was granted bail by a special court in Srinagar on Wednesday, May 15, 2024.

On February 29, 2024, Sultan was re-arrested for a five-year-old UAPA case, after being freed from detention under the Public Safety Act (PSA) by the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court.

“The case pertains to an incident of rioting at Srinagar’s Central Jail in 2019, when a group of inmates allegedly set fire to a few barracks and threw stones at the prison staff,” according to a report in Scroll.

While granting bail, the court acknowledged the seriousness of the charges, but observed that it was an incident that had occurred more than five years ago, and Sultan had already been detained for 72 days.

In the order dated May 10, additional sessions Judge Sandeep Gandotra said that mere use of the UAPA provisions against an accused would not warrant rejection of bail in ignorance of other binding requirements, Bar & Bench reported.

The court, however, has imposed stringent bail conditions, such as no use of messaging Apps or proxy networks.

It said Sultan "shall has neither use any secret/encrypted messaging apps or any proxy network (viz VPNS) to remain anonymous and circumvent provisions of India Telegraph Act and Indian Wireless Act and orders/restrictions issued there under nor provide any type of telecommunication facility from his number or device to other person through hotspot, WiFi etc," as quoted by Bar & Bench.

The journalist was also told by the court to seek its permission if he is buying another mobile handset or a new SIM card “in event of damage, loss, theft or upgrade.”

Sultan has been in custody since 2018. He was first arrested in another UAPA case in 2018, after which a Srinagar Court granted him bail in the case in 2022. Soon after, was booked under the stringent PSA.

While in prison, Sultan was conferred the John Aubuchon Press Freedom Award by the American National Press Club in 2019. He used to work for a now closed monthly magazine, Kashmir Narrator.

According to Bar & Bench, “while seeking bail, Sultan's counsel had argued that he had been arrested without any justifiable reason as he was not present at the place of occurrence when the incident had taken place.”

While noting that Sultan “had not been booked under those Sections of UAPA for which he would have been required to meet the stringent conditions of bail” the court said the incident took place over five years ago and there was “sufficient time” for the investigating agency for his custodial interrogation.