New Delhi, Aug 8: The Delhi High Court on Friday granted bail to one of the sons of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin while denying the relief to another in a terror funding case.

A bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Shalinder Kaur dismissed the bail plea of Salahuddin’s son Shahid Yusuf, saying the court cannot ignore the larger conspiracy brought forth by the prosecution.

Considering the prosecution’s allegation of the use of hawala channels to route terror funds into Jammu and Kashmir, the court said Yusuf was allegedly part of this network.

“The nature of the allegations and the material placed on record prima facie establish the appellant’s involvement in this conspiracy and his direct contact with known members of the proscribed terrorist outfit,” it said.

The order said he was allegedly received money from co-accused Aijaz Ahmad Bhat alias Aijaz Maqbool Bhat, knowing the funds would be used to further terrorist activities.

The possibility of Yusuf being a flight risk, the high court said, couldn’t be ruled out, particularly given that he reportedly travelled on a passport with a falsified parental identity previously and destroyed the document later.

There exists a real likelihood of his tampering with evidence and influencing witnesses, the bench said.

While granting bail to Syed Ahmad Shakeel, the court said he has already suffered prolonged incarceration of 6.11 years without any certainty of the trial concluding within a reasonable time. The court said the mainstay of the prosecution against Shakeel was the receipt of money and not its use for any terrorist activity.

He was observed to be a government servant, working as a senior lab technician in the Department of Microbiology at Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Soura.

“Keeping in view the role assigned to the appellant (Shakeel), continued detention of the appellant at this stage would not serve the ends of justice,” the bench said.

He was granted bail on a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh with two sureties of the like amount.

Shakeel was arrested by the NIA on August 30, 2018, from his residence in Srinagar, in a terror funding case lodged in 2011.

According to the NIA, the case relates to the transfer of funds through hawala channels by the terrorists based in Pakistan to Jammu and Kashmir, in a criminal conspiracy hatched with some operatives in India, to fuel and fund the secessionist and terrorist activities in J&K.

Yusuf was arrested in October 2017 on the allegations of receiving funds from Hizb-ul-Mujahideen from abroad and was chargesheeted in 2018.

Shakeel was alleged to have received money through Western Union from absconding accused Aijaz Ahmad Bhat, and his name had also surfaced in raising, receiving and collecting funds from the terrorist organisation through cadres from Saudi Arabia.

Syed Salahuddin, designated as a “global terrorist” by the United States, is the self-styled commander of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen.

New Delhi/Moscow, Aug 08: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday held a “very good and detailed conversation” with Russian President Vladimir Putin over phone during which both leaders not only vowed to further deepen the India-Russia Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership but also held detailed discussions on developments concerning Ukraine.

“Had a very good and detailed conversation with my friend President Putin. I thanked him for sharing the latest developments on Ukraine. We also reviewed the progress in our bilateral agenda, and reaffirmed our commitment to further deepen the India-Russia Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership. I look forward to hosting President Putin in India later this year,” PM Modi posted on X after the phone call.

While thanking President Putin for his detailed assessment, the Prime Minister reiterated India’s consistent position for peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict.

The phone call took place less than 24 hours after National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval called on the Russian President at the Kremlin on Thursday evening.

The important meeting came in wake of US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose additional tariffs on India for importing oil from Russia.

Terming the move as “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable”, India had made it clear that its imports are based on market factors and done with the overall objective of ensuring the energy security of 1.4 billion people of India.

From the Russian side, the meeting was also attended by Secretary of the Security Council of Russia Sergei Shoigu and Aide to the President of Russia Yuri Ushakov. India’s Ambassador to Russia, Vinay Kumar also participated in the meeting along with NSA Doval.

President Putin’s visit to India for the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit is being planned as part of the ongoing commitment to annual meetings between the two leaders.

“Our leaders have an agreement to meet once a year. This time, it is our turn,” Kremlin aide Ushakov had said earlier.

The last visit by the Russian President to India took place on December 6, 2021, during the 21st India-Russia Annual Summit in New Delhi.

PM Modi, meanwhile, held two high-profile visits to Russia last year, attending the 22nd Russia-India Summit in July and later participated in the BRICS Summit held in Kazan in October.

Citing that the political dialogue between India and Russia is “developing dynamically” and is facilitated by the fact that Moscow and New Delhi “have close or even coinciding views on the objectively emerging multipolar world order”, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had also indicated that preparations are being made for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s upcoming visit to India.

“Relations between our countries have a long history. It can be said that they have stood the test of time more than once. Today, Russia and India are developing equal cooperation based on sincere, mutual respect and consideration of each other’s interests,” Lavrov told the participants of the first international conference ‘Russia and India: Towards a New Agenda for Bilateral Relations’ which was also addressed by External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar in March, this year.

“It is difficult to overestimate the contribution of our leaders to this process. It is symbolic that Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his first bilateral foreign visit after his re-election last year to Russia. Now it is our turn. Russian President Vladimir Putin accepted the invitation of the head of the Indian government. The visit of the head of the Russian state to the Republic of India is being prepared,” he added.

In June, the Russian President sent a message of condolences to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the passenger plane crash in Ahmedabad.

“Please accept the deepest condolences over the tragic consequences of a passenger plane crash in Ahmedabad. Kindly convey the words of sincere sympathy and support to the families and near ones of the victims, as well as wishes for a speedy recovery to all those injured in this catastrophe,” said Putin

In May, President Putin also called Prime Minister Modi and “strongly condemned” the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, offering “full support” to India in its ongoing fight against terrorism.

A statement issued by the Kremlin said that Putin expressed sincere condolences to PM Modi over the death of Indian citizens as a result of the barbaric terrorist attack on April 22 and emphasised the need for an “uncompromising fight” against terrorism in any form.

“During the conversation, the strategic nature of Russian-Indian relations of a special privileged partnership was emphasised. These relations are not subject to external influence and continue to develop dynamically in all directions,” read the statement issued by the Russian President’s office.

“The Indian leader reiterated his invitation to the Russian President to visit India for the traditional annual bilateral summit. The invitation was accepted with gratitude,” it added.

PM Modi, who had also been invited by Putin for the participation in the Victory Day celebrations, however could not travel to Russia.

The Russian President had earlier extended his condolences to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Modi over the tragic consequences of the terrorist attack in Pahalgam.