Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir State Investigation Agency (SIA) has urged the High Court to reject an application filed by PDP MLA Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra seeking permission to travel outside the Union Territory.
In its response to Parra’s plea, the SIA — through its counsel and Additional Advocate General Mohsin S. Qadri — described the application as “baseless and meritless,” citing his alleged involvement in “serious and heinous offences” in a terror-linked case registered in 2020.
“It may be true that the applicant has not violated any bail condition in the last three years. However, this application, seeking permission to travel outside J&K without the trial court’s approval, would undermine the court’s authority in supervising and monitoring the trial proceedings,” the counsel argued.
Parra, who was granted bail in May 2022, had recently approached the High Court seeking leave to travel outside J&K. The SIA maintained that compliance with bail conditions does not automatically entitle an accused to unrestricted travel.
“Being on bail and seeking permission to leave the territorial limits of J&K are two separate matters,” the counsel said, adding that national security and public interest must take precedence.
The agency also accused Parra of attempting to “mislead the court” by concealing facts, noting that a similar petition filed by him in 2023 is still pending. “The applicant has not come with clean hands and has distorted material facts to mislead the court,” Qadri said, asserting that the plea “deserves dismissal without examination on merits.”
The SIA further alleged that Parra’s denial of having filed any similar plea amounted to “suppression of material facts” and “wilful fraud upon the court.” The counsel suggested that such conduct could invite contempt proceedings for “abuse of the court’s process.”
Arguing against relaxation of bail terms, the SIA said that the requirement to seek prior permission before travelling outside J&K was imposed due to the gravity of the charges and should not be diluted for convenience.
The agency warned that approving Parra’s plea would effectively “delete” a key bail condition and amount to a “review” of the earlier order — something impermissible under criminal law. It also expressed concern that such relaxation could make other bail conditions redundant and jeopardize his availability for trial and investigation.
“The application is devoid of merit and must be dismissed,” the counsel concluded, adding that granting it would set a “dangerous precedent” for other accused in similar cases.
