Mumbai NIA Court Rejects Bail Plea of ISIS Module Suspect Shamil Nachan

A special NIA court in Mumbai has rejected the bail and discharge pleas filed by Shamil Nachan, an accused in an Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) module case, after finding that he suppressed material facts regarding pending petitions in the High Court.

Shamil Nachan, who is the son of terror convict Saquib Nachan, was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in August 2023. According to the agency, he was allegedly linked to an ISIS module and involved in a network engaged in radicalising youth.

Following his arrest, Shamil approached the special court seeking both bail and discharge from the case. Both of these applications were rejected by the court on Wednesday.

In the order, Special Judge Chakor Baviskar noted that Shamil had petitions seeking similar relief already pending before the High Court. The court highlighted that he failed to voluntarily disclose the filing of those High Court proceedings while contesting his applications before the special court.

Special Judge Baviskar observed that suppressing these facts created the possibility of conflicting court orders. The judge stated that by withholding material facts, the applicant-accused had axiomatically attempted to play fraud on the court, adding that his bona fides were not clear.