Justice Delayed is Justice Denied: Yasin Malik and Bitta Karate Must Face the Full Force of Law

 

The pain of Kashmiri Pandits uprooted from their ancestral land in 1989-90 remains an open wound on the nation's conscience. Decades later, key figures linked to those dark times, known terrorist and separatist leader Yasin Malik of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), and terrorist Faroob Ahmed Dar, known as Bitta Karate, are only now facing serious legal consequences. The nation must ask why justice has taken so long and why some voices are still seeking leniency for men whose actions shattered lives and destabilized India's sovereignty. Yasin Malik's record is no secret. In May 2022, a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Delhi convicted him under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code. He pleaded guilty to charges of terror funding, criminal conspiracy, and membership in a terrorist organization. The court awarded life imprisonment under Section 17 of the UAPA, along with additional sentences under other sections. The NIA sought the death penalty, arguing that Malik's crimes met the standard of the "rarest of rare" cases. Beyond terror funding, Malik is a named accused in the 1989 kidnapping of Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of then Home Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. Rubaiya herself identified Malik in court as one of her abductors. He is also on trial for the 1990 Srinagar shootout in which four unarmed Indian Air Force personnel were gunned down, an act that terrorized civilians and servicemen alike. In April 2025, the Supreme Court of India refused to allow Malik's physical production in Jammu courts, citing security risks, and directed that 24 he cross-examine witnesses via video conferencing from Tihar Jail. The CBI's plea to transfer these trials to Delhi remains pending, while appeals continue over whether the death penalty should be imposed in his terror-funding case. Bitta Karate, once a JKLF militant, publicly confessed on camera in the 1990s to killing numerous innocent Kashmiri Pandits. Though later released on bail, fresh investigations under UAPA have reopened cases against him, yet no final judgment has been delivered. Historical records, testimonies, and multiple media investigations document the fear created by JKLF militants and other terror groups in late 1989 and early 1990-killings of Pandit community members, threats pasted on doors, and mosque loudspeaker campaigns that forced nearly the entire Kashmiri Pandit community to flee. Malik and his JKLF cadre have been repeatedly named in journalistic accounts and testimonies linking them to attacks on Pandits and security forces. The exodus of over 3.5 lakh Kashmiri Pandits, the killing of Indian Air Force personnel, and the trauma of Rubaiya Sayeed's kidnapping are not minor episodes; they are chapters of terror that undermined India's unity. Allowing figures like Malik or Bitta Karate to escape the harshest consequences would send the wrong message that political maneuver ing or international pressure can override justice. The delay in concluding these trials is painful for survivors and harmful for India's credibility as a nation committed to the rule of law. Witnesses age, memories fade, and evidence deteriorates, but justice delayed is justice denied. India's legal framework reserves the death penalty for the "rarest of rare" cases, and terrorism that seeks to dismember the nation and causes mass displacement surely qualifies. The NIA's plea for capital punishment for Malik reflects the gravity of his offenses. If, after full due process, the courts uphold the death penalty, it would affirm that attacks on India's sovereignty and massacres of innocents carry the highest consequences. Neither the Government of India nor the judiciary must bow to pressure, whether from Kashmir-centric political groups, separatist sympathizers, or international actors-seeking to dilute justice. Upholding the law equally for all citizens is vital for national integrity, and the victims of terror, especially the Kashmiri Pandits scattered across India and abroad, deserve closure. Swift and conclusive verdicts in these landmark cases will not only punish the guilty but also restore faith in India's democratic institutions for generations of displaced Pandits and other victims of terror. Successive governments must resist using such cases as bargaining chips or political gestures. Allowing political expediency to influence justice would set a dangerous precedent that attacks on India's sovereignty can be negotiated or delayed something no democracy committed to the rule of law can permit. The fight against terrorism is not communal or partisan; it is a defense of India's secular, democratic fabric. Granting undue leniency to separatist leaders like Yasin Malik or Bitta Karate would erode faith in the justice system. The world must see that India treats terrorism with zero tolerance while respecting due process. The nation must stand united for complete justice for the victims, for fair but firm application of the law, and for an unyielding commitment to national sovereignty. Only then can the exiled Kashmiri Pandits begin to heal and the Valley move toward genuine peace.

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Courtesy:  Kundan Kashmiri  and Koshur Samachar- October,2025