New Delhi, Oct 17 (IANS): The Supreme Court on Monday declined to entertain a plea by Jammu and Kashmir Police challenging bail granted to PDP leader Waheed Ur Rehman Parra.

A bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Abhay S. Oka said: "On hearing counsel for parties, we would not like interfere with the aspect of the grant of bail but we are certainly not giving our imprimatur to any of the observations coming in the impugned order as regards the interpretation of the UAPA (Unlawful Activities (Prevention)) Act. The Special Leave Petition is dismissed with the aforesaid clarification. Pending application, if any, stands disposed of."

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and other lawyers, representing the Union Territory of J&K, urged the court to cancel the bail granted to Parra.

In May this year, terming the evidence produced by J&K Police against Parra "sketchy" , the J&K High Court granted him bail after nearly a year in custody. Para however, has been in jail for nearly 17 months.

The high court, in its order, observed: "Viewed from any angle, the evidence assembled by the investigating agency and relied upon by the prosecution to prosecute the appellant even if accepted as it is without any denial or rebuttal by the appellant, is not such on the basis of which the court can formulate an opinion that the allegations proved during the investigation are prima facie true."

NIA first arrested Parra, a close confidant of former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, in November 2020, and in January 2021, he got bail. However, he was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Wing (Kashmir) of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, which is now converted into the Special Investigation Agency.