3 min readSrinagarUpdated: Aug 14, 2026 07:45 AM IST
In a rare and extraordinary instance, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has ordered the appointment of a special public prosecutor exclusively for one case.
J&K’s Home Department on Thursday issued a notification appointing Abdul Rashid Dar as special public prosecutor in an FIR registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
The six-year-old FIR is registered against Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader and legislator Waheed Para.
“In exercise of powers conferred by the sub section (8) of Section 18 of the Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 and in supersession of earlier notification issued on the subject, the Government of Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir hereby appoints Mr Abdul Rashid Dar, Additional Public Prosecutor NIA court Srinagar as Special Public Prosecutor in case FIR No 31/2020 of Police Station CIK Srinagar involving offences u/s 13, 17, 18, 38, 39 and 40 of UAPA Act 1967 read with section 120-B, 121, 121-A IPC pending before the Special Judge (TADA/POTA) Srinagar. By order of the Hon’ble Lieutenant Governor, J&K,” reads the notification issued by Principal Secretary Home Chandraker Bharti.
The sections under the UAPA deal with advocating unlawful activities, collecting funds for a terrorist organisation, conspiracy, attempt, or facilitation of a terrorist act, while those under the IPC deal with criminal conspiracy and waging war against the state.
Para, who was then the PDP youth president, was booked by Counter Intelligence (CI) Kashmir under the stringent UAPA for alleged involvement in “supporting and providing funds to militants and sustaining networks linked to separatism and terrorism”.
On November 25, 2020, a day after he submitted his form for the District Development Council (DDC) polls from Pulwama, he was detained by police. While in jail, Para won the DDC seat from Pulwama. However, he was not allowed to take oath even after he was out on bail.
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Para spent a little over a year and a half in jail before the J&K High Court granted him bail in May 2022, observing that prima facie evidence presented by the prosecution was “insufficient or too sketchy to deny bail”.
In October 2022, the Supreme Court upheld the bail granted to Para by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court.
In 2024, Para unsuccessfully contested the parliamentary elections from Srinagar. However, in the Assembly election in October 2024 — the first after the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status — Para defeated the National Conference candidate from Pulwama.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Para said that under the UAPA, the process turns out to be the punishment. “Under UAPA, procedures are becoming punishment,” he said. “I have been attending court for four years and hardly eight witnesses came in four years. The government intends to drag the process and keep me jailed with court hearings even when I am bailed out.”