Srinagar: Kashmiri journalist Fahad Shah returned home on Thursday after spending almost two years in jail on alleged terrorism charges linked to a 2011 opinion article published by the now-defunct digital daily, The Kashmir Walla.
The J&K high court, granting him bail, dismissed charges under UAPA, underscoring the clash with the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression enshrined in Article 19 of the Indian Constitution.
The Kashmir Walla, Shah’s news outlet was previously banned under the Information Technology Act.
The court’s division bench underlined that invoking terrorism charges for an 11-year-old article directly contradicted the constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression.
