The Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Sopore has issued a proclamation order against Pakistan-based Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin, declaring him an absconder in a 2012 terror-related case and directing him to appear before the court within 30 days.
The order, passed by Chief Judicial Magistrate Mir Wajahat, came in response to an application filed by the Station House Officer (SHO) of Police Station Dangiwacha through the Assistant Public Prosecutor (APP). The SHO had sought issuance of a proclamation under Section 87 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), corresponding to Section 84 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023.
According to the court record, the charge sheet in FIR No. 67/2012 was presented before the court on December 5, 2023, in the absence of the accused. Despite multiple warrants and summons, Salahuddin — identified in the document as Mohammad Yousuf Shah alias Salahuddin, son of Ghulam Rasool Shah, resident of Soibugh, Budgam has remained untraceable and continues to evade arrest.
The executing officer submitted a report confirming that the accused had absconded and was deliberately concealing himself to avoid execution of the warrant and appearance before the court.
After examining the report and the case file, the court observed that there were reasonable grounds to believe the accused was intentionally evading the process of law.
The CJM noted that the “statutory preconditions for issuance of a proclamation have been satisfied,” emphasizing that such measures are procedural steps to compel the appearance of an absconding accused.
Consequently, the court issued a formal proclamation against Salahuddin, directing him to appear before the court within 30 days from the date of publication. The SHO of Police Station Dangiwacha has been tasked with executing the proclamation, obtaining certification of publication, and submitting a compliance report before the next hearing.
The order further stated that if Salahuddin fails to appear within the stipulated period, proceedings under Section 83 CrPC (now Section 85 BNSS) will be initiated for declaring him a proclaimed offender, leading to the attachment of his property as per law.
Salahuddin, a Pakistan-based terrorist, heads the Hizbul Mujahideen and also leads the United Jihad Council (UJC) — an umbrella organization of multiple terrorist outfits operating from Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
A resident of Soibugh village in central Kashmir’s Budgam district, Salahuddin had contested the 1987 Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections as a candidate of the Muslim United Front (MUF) from the Amirakadal constituency before taking to terrorism.
He has been living in Pakistan for decades, coordinating anti-India terror operations and issuing threats through various media platforms. In 2017, the United States designated Salahuddin as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” for his role in directing and supporting Hizbul Mujahideen’s terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir.
