ibn sultan
Srinagar, Dec 30 : PDP legislator Wahid Parra has publicly raised concerns over what he describes as a grave violation of legal safeguards, stating that he has been summoned to two different NIA courts on the same day for hearings under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, based on what he claims are identical allegations.
In a detailed post on X, Parra said he has been asked to appear simultaneously before NIA courts in Jammu and Srinagar, cities separated by nearly 300 kilometres, calling the situation an example of “double jeopardy” in practice, if not formally acknowledged on paper.
Parra argued that while double jeopardy is recognised in law as a protection against being punished twice for the same offence, its spirit is often undermined through prolonged and repetitive legal processes. He said that facing parallel proceedings under the same law, for the same accusations, places an unbearable burden on an individual, effectively turning procedure itself into punishment.
Describing the human cost of extended legal battles, Parra said that court dates begin to replace family life, case numbers substitute personal identity, and years are lost while life remains suspended. According to him, the requirement to constantly prove innocence over multiple proceedings drains time, health, and emotional stability, even in the absence of any final judgment.
He further stated that what the legal system terms as “procedure” is experienced by the accused as fear, exhaustion, and humiliation. When a person is ordered to be present in two courts on the same day, Parra said, the law ceases to be a search for truth and instead becomes a test of physical and mental survival.
Parra stressed that the issue extends beyond his own case, asserting that many individuals across the country remain trapped in prolonged trials, waiting years to be seen as human beings rather than as files or accused persons. He warned that law detached from humanity risks becoming an instrument of cruelty, where injustice exists long before any verdict is delivered. [KNT]
