Overview
- Additional Sessions Judge Manjeet Rai, sitting as a special judge under the NIA Act, held that the prosecution failed to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.
- The court flagged material inconsistencies in arrest and recovery accounts and said missing identifiers and seal records broke the chain of custody.
- It found no independent civilian witness to corroborate police testimony or to substantiate UAPA allegations of association with Al-Badr.
- The matter stemmed from October 10, 2022 arrests at a Batamaloo checkpoint of Wajid Ahmad Bhat, Masrat Bilal Bhuru and Rameez Ahmad Dar, with police claiming seizures of grenades, an AK-47 magazine, 30 rounds and Rs 47,500.
- The charge under Section 7/25 of the Arms Act was held not proved, and the court ordered the trio’s release if they are not required in any other case.