New Delhi — A property belonging to businessman Mubeen Shah in Srinagar’s Lal Chowk area has been attached by the Enforcement Directorate under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), officials said on Tuesday.
Shah, a prominent trader from the Kashmir Valley, was arrested on August 4, 2019, a day before the central government revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s special status under Article 370. He was later released on bail after the court found insufficient evidence to continue his detention. The recent attachment follows a fresh investigation by the agency into alleged links between Shah’s business activities and “terror financing” as defined under the UAPA, according to a statement from the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The ED’s notice, filed in the Srinagar District Court, lists the property — a commercial‑residential building valued at approximately ₹ 2 crore — as “proceeds of unlawful activity” and orders its seizure pending further inquiry. The notice also cites a financial‑transaction monitoring report that allegedly shows large transfers from accounts linked to individuals and entities under the UAPA watchlist.
Shah’s legal team, led by senior advocate Rohit Bansal, contested the attachment, arguing that the property was acquired through legitimate business earnings from his wholesale trade in dry fruits and spices. “The attachment is arbitrary and politically motivated, aimed at intimidating a businessman who voiced concerns over the revocation of Article 370,” Bansal said in a filing with the court.
The case arrives amid a broader wave of UAPA actions across the country, where authorities have used the law to freeze assets of individuals accused of supporting extremist groups. Human‑rights observers have warned that the UAPA’s broad definitions can be leveraged to target dissenters and business figures with tenuous connections to alleged illegal activities.
Analysis:
The timing of the attachment — more than six years after Shah’s initial arrest and release — suggests the ED may be revisiting older cases in light of new intelligence or financial data. The agency’s reliance on transaction‑monitoring reports aligns with recent trends where Indian law‑enforcement bodies employ digital‑trail analyses to justify asset seizures under anti‑terror statutes.
If the attachment proceeds, it could have a chilling effect on Kashmiri entrepreneurs, many of whom have faced heightened scrutiny since the 2019 constitutional changes. Conversely, the court’s prior decision to release Shah on bail indicates that the evidence presented then was insufficient to sustain a prolonged detention, raising questions about the strength of the current financial‑link allegations.
The legal outcome will hinge on whether the prosecution can substantiate a direct link between Shah’s commercial transactions and activities prohibited under the UAPA, a standard that has been subject to judicial interpretation in multiple high‑court rulings.
Sources
– “Businessman Mubeen Shah’s property attached in Srinagar under UAPA.” The Hindu, 29 March 2024. https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/jammu-and-kashmir/businessman-mubeen-shahs-property-attached-in-srinagar-under-uapa/article71170140.ece
Story synopsis gathered from: The Hindu – National — source
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