Jammu: A Special Judge framed charges Thursday against a University Scholar Abdul Ala Fazili and a Journalist Peerzada Fahad Shah in a State Investigation Agency (SIA) investigated case filed last year on charges of publishing a seditious article in a digital news portal, officials said on Friday.
Sources said the case was registered based on the inputs received by the SIA with regard to the article titled ‘The Shackles of Slavery Will Break’ written by Aala Fazili and published in the digital magazine (portal) ‘The Kashmir Walla’ through its Editor-in-Chief cum Director Peerzada Fahad Shah.
The SIA accused the duo of conspiring with Paksitan’s support resurrecting a platform reviving the narrative in support of terrorist and separatist eco-system. It accused duo of spreading anti-India narrative by exploiting the digital platforms under a concealed and camouflaged set-up, with the help of illicit funding received from hostile foreign agencies and proscribed terrorist organisations.
It claimed that they duo was in touch with secessionists across the border and with some identified terrorists locally. It further alleged that the duo was brazenly advocating terrorism and glorifying terrorists to aid radicalisation of Kashmiri youth and to send them the path down to joining secessionist and terrorist organisations.
The SIA had charge-sheeted the case in the court of Special Judge under NIA Act, Jammu on Oct. 13, 2022 after procuring the requisite government sanction, which came up for hearing on charge/discharge on March 16, 2023. The SIA said the Special Court found sufficient material against the duo and framed the charges against them.
The charges framed include unlawful activity, conspiracy, advocating, abetting, inciting, facilitating a terrorist act or any preparation to commit a terrorist act, abetting waging of war against government of India, imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration, causing disappearance of evidence of offence, accepting foreign contribution in contravention of provisions of FCRA, or any order or rule therein, and violation of FCRA by a company tantamount to contravention by the persons incharge or responsible for business of such company.
