Srinagar, Oct 24: The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has dismissed an appeal seeking default bail by three Kathua residents arrested in a case involving alleged offences under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Explosive Substances Act and the Arms Act.

A division bench of Justices Yash Paul Bourney and Sanjeev Kumar, in a judgment pronounced on October 21, upheld the trial court’s February 28, 2026, order denying bail to Raiz, 24, Younis, 21, and Meema, 60, all residents of Suffian Bhaddu village in Kathua district and lodged in District Jail, Jammu.
The case relates to FIR No. 61/2025, registered on March 28, 2025. The three accused were arrested on April 28, 2025, and the charge-sheet was filed on October 25, 2025.
The appellants argued that the charge-sheet had been filed without completing the investigation to defeat their right to default bail. Their counsel cited the Supreme Court’s ruling in Ritu Chhabaria v. Union of India, which held that an incomplete investigation cannot be presented as complete merely to deny an accused this statutory right.
However, the High Court held that the investigation into the offences allegedly committed by the appellants had been completed. It noted that the case material included witness statements, electronic and forensic records, and call detail records.
The bench observed that continued efforts to establish the accused persons’ alleged links with slain and absconding terrorists, or their possible involvement in earlier terror-related incidents in Kathua, did not by themselves render the charge-sheet incomplete.
The court also agreed with the trial court that the appellants were not entitled to bail on merits in view of the material available against them.
Dismissing the appeal, the High Court directed that a copy of the judgment be sent to the trial court and asked it to proceed with the trial expeditiously.