SRINAGAR: In a new twist in the 2020 assassination case of prominent advocate Babar Qadri, a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court has framed charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against senior lawyer and former president of the Kashmir wing of the High Court Bar Association (HCBA), Mian Abdul Qayoom, Law Trend reported.
Qayoom, 77, a long-time president of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association, was arrested on June 25, 2024. He has been named the alleged principal conspirator in Qadri’s killing, which authorities say was executed by proscribed The Resistance Front (TRF).
According to officials, the designated NIA court has framed charges against Qayoom under Sections 16, 18, and 38 of the UAPA, relating to terrorism and conspiracy to commit terrorist acts. The move follows a detailed investigation by the State Investigation Agency (SIA), which took over the case in July 2023.
Earlier, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court had dismissed Qayoom’s habeas corpus petition and challenge to his arrest, upholding the legality of the investigation and remand process.
Advocate Babar Qadri, founder of the Kashmir Lawyers Club and a frequent TV debater, was shot dead at his Srinagar residence on September 24, 2020. He had survived an earlier assassination attempt in 2018. Investigations initially linked Lashkar commander Saqib Manzoor to the case; Manzoor was later killed in an encounter in 2022.
Qadri had been a vocal critic of Qayoom, often accusing him of running the HCBA to serve separatist interests. Police filed the first chargesheet in 2021 against six accused. In August 2022, raids were conducted on Qayoom’s Srinagar residences, where investigators seized electronic devices, bank statements, and documents. The SIA subsequently announced a reward of Rs 10 lakh for leads in the case.
In December 2023, the SIA filed a 340-page supplementary chargesheet against Qayoom, citing offences under both the IPC and UAPA, including murder. The High Court later transferred the trial to Jammu, citing apprehensions of Qayoom’s alleged interference in judicial proceedings and intimidation of Qadri’s family.
The SIA dossier portrays Qayoom as a staunch separatist loyal to hardline leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, describing him as Qayoom’s “political guru”. Investigators allege that Qayoom had long mirrored Hurriyat shutdown calls, and effectively ran the Bar Association as a “fiefdom” aligned with separatist agendas.
