New Delhi, Nov 28 (IANS): The Supreme Court on Thursday issued notice on a plea filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) seeking the transfer of the trial of Yasin Malik, the chief of banned Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), in the 1990 Indian Air Force (IAF) officers killing case from a Jammu court to Delhi.

A bench of Justices Abhay S. Oka and A.G. Masih agreed to examine CBI’s plea and asked Yasin Malik and others co-accused to file their responses by December 18.

The Kashmiri separatist leader is facing a trial for his alleged role in the killing of IAF officers in Srinagar city in 1990. Before the apex court, the Central probe agency has challenged an order passed by the Jammu Trial Court requiring the physical production of Yasin Malik.

The CBI has contended that Yasin Malik could not be taken to Jammu because of security reasons in addition to the safety of the witnesses in the 1990 killing of four IAF officers.

The CBI has sought directions for transferring and conducting trial proceedings in the Tihar jail premises, where Yasin Malik is currently lodged.

Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta, appearing for the CBI, contended that Yasin Malik was playing tricks by saying that he would appear in person to cross-examine witnesses without seeking the assistance of a lawyer.

“He is not an ordinary criminal. He is just not another terrorist. He travelled to Pakistan many times to meet Hafiz Saeed (the founder of the terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT)). The government cannot go by the book in this case. The witnesses need security. One witness was assassinated,” said SG Mehta.

Last week, the top court remarked that every accused is entitled to a fair trial and even a terrorist like Ajmal Kasab was given a fair trial. The SC had told the CBI that it would hear all accused in the case before passing an order.

It had asked the Union government to explore the option of holding the trial in jail and said that Malik could also be allowed to appear before the apex court through virtual mode.

In May 2022, the NIA court sentenced Malik to life imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to charges of waging war against the state, for conspiracy and terror funding. The NIA later appealed to the Delhi High Court seeking the death penalty for Malik in that case.

Yasin Malik is the main accused in the killing of four Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel in the Rawalpora locality of Srinagar on January 25, 1990.