Court denies permission to Parra to travel outside J&K for father’s treatment

Srinagar: A court here has denied permission to Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra for accompanying his father outside Jammu and Kashmir for his treatment for a year.

In his plea through his counsel before the court, Parra had sought direction for a year’s permission to travel outside Jammu and Kashmir to Mumbai and New Delhi “in connection with the routine treatment of his father who is suffering from an advanced stage of Metastatic Squamous Cell Carcinoma”.

His counsel contended that during the pendency of the case against Parra, he had been cooperative with the investigating agency and was appearing before the court on each and every date of hearing. However, the prosecution opposed the application.

The Court of Special Judge designated under the NIA Act, Srinagar, Sandeep Gandotra rejected Parra’s plea after hearing his counsel and the APP for J&K Union Territory.

“The applicant is facing trial before this court in case FIR No 31/2020 of Police Station CIK Srinagar and vide order dated July 20, 2021, charges for offences under Sections 13, 17, 18, 38, 39, and 40 of the UAP Act and under Sections 120-B, 121, 121-A, and 124- A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) have been framed against him,” the court said.

It said that the next date had been fixed for prosecution evidence.

“A blanket permission for one year cannot be granted to the applicant (Parra) to go outside J&K because not only the trial of the case will be hampered by the absence of accused on the dates on which witnesses would appear in this case for recording of their statements, but there are apprehensions that he will misuse the liberty, if granted, to again try and connect with elements anywhere in India, who are suspected of running terrorist and secessionist networks,” the court said.

While the court held that the applicant (Parra) had earlier also moved an application to go to Mumbai because his father was unfortunately diagnosed with an illness, it said that the applicant was granted permission on humanitarian grounds for 15 days to take his father to TATA Memorial Center Mumbai in April this year.

“However, the facts of the present application are different because by giving blanket permission to the accused for one year to go to Delhi and Mumbai, not only the trial of the case will get hampered, which is at the evidence stage but there are genuine apprehensions of the applicant fleeing from the country and trying to disrupt the collection of evidence,” the court said. “It appears that the accused and applicant is in the habit of moving applications to go outside J&K and outside country on one pretext or other.”