Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Anticipating that Kashmiri separatists facing charges of terror funding are likely to hire top lawyers to defend themselves, NIA has decided to hire senior Supreme Court lawyer Siddharth Luthra to represent the prosecution in the case. It has sent a proposal to the Law Ministry through the Home Ministry and is waiting for the government’s response.
Luthra was additional solicitor general under the UPA government and resigned in 2014 after the Narendra Modi government came to power. Recently, Luthra represented Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his defamation case against Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, who was represented by senior lawyer Ram Jethmalani. He has earlier represented the UPA government in big cases such as the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.
“We are hoping the Law Ministry will give a go-ahead. Luthra is a very competent lawyer. This is a big case and we want a special counsel for prosecution,” a senior NIA official said. Sources, however, said NIA does not yet have a written consent from Luthra to represent the agency in the case.
Sources said the case is complicated and would require a good lawyer. They said that as the complete financial trail of top separatists connecting them to Pakistan has not been established, the agency is considering how to use available evidence to prosecute those charged by it.
“Much of the money that has flowed in from Pakistan has come through hawala networks. Some of it has been routed through Dubai. Proving hawala transactions in court with complete financial trail is a tough job that will require knowledge of finer nuances of the law,” the officer said. Sources said the agency is hoping that some of the hawala dealers may agree to make a confessional statement before a magistrate.
Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram
