J&K Bar Association ex-chief held for killing of lawyer by terrorists

SRINAGAR: Former president of J&K HC Bar Association Mian Abdul Qayoom Bhat was on Tuesday arrested for a conspiracy leading to the fatal terrorist attack on lawyer Babar Qadri in 2020.
Bhat, who is now in his late 70s, had authored the constitution of Hurriyat Conference’s Syed Ali Shah Geelani faction in 1993. His son-in-law Javed Iqbal Wani is a serving HC judge.
A separatist, Bhat has been in and out of jail several times.He was arrested in 1990 under Public Safety Act and jailed till 1992. He was again arrested for brief periods twice, in 2008 and 2010, for organising protests in the Valley. He was arrested on August 5, 2019 — the day Article 370 was nullified — under PSA and released only in 2021 after he gave a bond for not indulging in separatist activities.
Qadri was a long-time rival in the bar who had challenged Bhat’s stranglehold on the association, alleging the latter held his post for years by manipulating its polls.
Bhat was picked up by J&K Police’s State Investigation Agency (SIA) and booked under Section 302 (murder) as well as provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. Qadri was shot dead at his Srinagar home in Sept 2020 by two terrorists who came posing as clients.
Days before his murder, Qadri, a well-known HC lawyer and TV panellist on rights issues, had posted a video alleging how Bhat had rigged the bar elections. Before that, Qadri had narrowly survived an assassination bid in 2018. Qadri’s family had links to Jamaat-e-Islami.
Hours after Bhat’s arrest, Srinagar district magistrate issued an order putting on hold J&K HC Bar Association elections which were scheduled for June 27. The administration has also imposed section 144 in lower court premises in Srinagar where polls were to be held.
Bhat was known for his close association with pro-Pakistan separatist leader Geelani, and was involved in bringing together around 23 outfits, including the bar association, under the Hurriyat umbrella.
Earlier this year, HC had transferred the Qadri murder case to a court in Jammu from Srinagar “for a fair and impartial trial where witnesses are in a position to depose in an atmosphere which is free and not hostile”. HC order came on an SIA plea that had claimed no lawyer from Srinagar was willing to render legal assistance due to the involvement of some influential advocates.
After the initial probe into Qadri’s killing, the case was transferred to SIA. In Aug 2022, police had searched Bhat’s homes and those of two other lawyers in Srinagar, seizing digital devices, bank statements and documents. Last Sept, SIA had announced a reward of Rs 10 lakh for information leading to the arrest of Qadri’s assailants.