Delhi court orders trial of Yasin Malik, Engineer Rashid, 5 others in terror funding case

The Delhi court ordered the trial to begin after formally framing charges under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. The case concerns allegations that money was generated, received and laundered to support secessionist activities in Jammu and Kashmir. Prosecution evidence is scheduled to start on November 19.

The accused are JKLF chief Yasin Malik, Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali, Abdul Rashid Sheikh, Shabir Ahmad Shah, Masarat Alam, Naval Kishore Kapoor and Trison Farms and Constructions Pvt Ltd. Malik appeared by video from Tihar Jail and pleaded not guilty. The court proceedings took place in camera.

The order does not establish guilt. It moves the case into the evidence stage after the court found sufficient material to raise a strong suspicion against all seven accused. The prosecution will now present evidence, while the accused can challenge the allegations during the trial. The case is linked to alleged funds routed through Pakistan-based hawala channels.

The Prevention of Money Laundering Act, or PMLA, is an Indian law used to investigate and prosecute the handling of proceeds linked to criminal activity. Its purpose is to prevent illegal funds from being concealed, transferred, possessed, acquired or used. In this case, the Enforcement Directorate used the law to examine alleged money connected to terrorist and secessionist activities.

Section 3 generally defines the offence of money laundering. It can cover involvement in processes such as concealing, possessing, acquiring, using or projecting proceeds of crime as clean money. The article reports that the court found sufficient material to raise a strong suspicion under Section 3 against all seven accused.

A charge is not a conviction. It means the court believes the case should proceed to trial because the initial material crosses the threshold for framing charges. The prosecution must still prove its allegations with evidence. Yasin Malik pleaded not guilty and said he would contest the case.

The central financial figure is ₹8.94 crore. The Enforcement Directorate alleges that criminal activities under investigation generated this amount as proceeds of crime. The figure represents the money the agency says was connected to the alleged criminal and secessionist activities examined in the case.

According to the ED, the funds were subsequently received, transferred, concealed, possessed, acquired and used by the accused. The agency alleged that cash couriers moved money from the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi to members of the Hurriyat leadership, including Yasin Malik. It also cited alleged foreign contributions routed through Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali.

The ₹8.94 crore figure is an allegation, not a judicially established loss or final finding. The court has only ordered the trial after finding a strong suspicion at the charge stage. Prosecution evidence will begin on November 19, when the agency will have to present material supporting its claimed amount and money trail.

At the stage of framing charges, a court does not conduct the full trial or decide final guilt. It reviews the prosecution material and asks whether the allegations disclose a case that should be tested through evidence. “Prima facie” means the material appears sufficient on its face, while “strong suspicion” means the material creates a serious basis for believing the accused may have committed the alleged offence.

Here, the Delhi court said there was sufficient material linking all seven accused to generating, receiving and laundering alleged proceeds of crime. The court relied on the record before it, including allegations about funds, documents and communications. It then formally framed charges under Section 3 of the PMLA.

The decision allows the prosecution to present witnesses and documents. It does not settle disputed facts or remove the presumption that the accused must be proved guilty. Yasin Malik pleaded not guilty. The prosecution evidence is scheduled to begin on November 19, followed by the accused’s opportunity to challenge the case.

Once charges are formally framed, the case proceeds to trial rather than ending at the preliminary stage. The prosecution must present evidence supporting the alleged offence. That can include documents, financial records, communications and witness testimony relevant to the alleged movement and use of funds.

The court directed that prosecution evidence begin on November 19. The ED has alleged an ₹8.94 crore money trail involving cash couriers, foreign contributions and funds allegedly routed through Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali. It also relied on documents recovered from an accountant-cum-cashier and emails associated with Yasin Malik.

The accused will be able to challenge the prosecution’s material during the proceedings. Malik has pleaded not guilty and said he would contest the case. The court will ultimately assess the evidence and arguments before deciding the charges. The order therefore marks a procedural advance, not a final determination of responsibility.

The money-laundering case is connected to an earlier NIA case registered in 2017. That investigation concerned an alleged larger conspiracy involving terrorist and secessionist activities in Jammu and Kashmir. The NIA alleged that funds were raised and received through illegal channels, including hawala, to support those activities.

The NIA invoked provisions including criminal conspiracy, IPC Sections 121 and 121A, and sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Section 121 concerns waging war against the government, while Section 121A concerns criminal conspiracy against the state. The NIA’s second supplementary charge sheet also alleged that Malik received ₹15.75 lakh from Saudi Arabia in 2013.

The ED registered its money-laundering case on June 14, 2017, to investigate alleged proceeds generated through the scheduled offences. Its main prosecution complaint came in 2020, and a supplementary complaint added Malik in January 2023. The underlying NIA case ultimately led to Malik’s conviction in 2022.

Hawala is an informal value-transfer arrangement in which intermediaries in different places settle obligations between themselves, often without sending the same cash through the banking system. This explanation uses established general knowledge; the article only identifies hawala as an illegal channel allegedly used in the case. Such networks can move value across borders through relationships between brokers.

The investigation described alleged funds moving through cash couriers from the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi to Hurriyat leaders, including Yasin Malik. The ED also examined money allegedly received through Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali. Documents recovered from his accountant-cum-cashier allegedly recorded foreign contributions during 2015-16.

The difficulty for investigators is reconstructing the chain. A transfer may involve several people, cash handovers and separate settlement records instead of one transparent bank transaction. That can obscure who supplied the money, who received it and how it was used. In this case, the ED says such channels helped move funds linked to its alleged proceeds-of-crime investigation.