New Delhi: The Delhi high court today, June 10, granted bail to Kashmiri human rights activist Khurram Parvez in a case in which the National Investigation Agency had invoked the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.Parvez’s arrest in 2021 and his incarceration since then had invited global censure.LiveLaw reports that a division bench of Justice Navin Chawla and Justice Ravinder Dudeja allowed Parvez’s appeal challenging a trial court order passed on December 17, 2024, denying him bail.“We have granted bail, subject to various conditions,” the bench said. The full order is awaited.The NIA arrested Parvez on November 22, 2021 and charged under the UAPA and various sections of the Indian Penal Code. LiveLaw noted that the NIA alleged that a network linked to the banned terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Tayyaba (LeT) had recruited Over Ground Workers (OGWs), gathered intelligence on security installations, facilitated terror funding, and instigated protests following the killing of Burhan Wani in 2016. Parvez has argued in his appeal that there is no factual substantiation of these claims.In December 2021, after the UN human rights chief’s office raised concerns about the arrest, India lashed out, saying the UN body should develop a better understanding of the negative impact of terrorism on human rights.Describing Parvez as a “tireless advocate” for families of ‘disappeared persons‘, the OHCHR spokesperson had noted back then that he had been targeted for his work earlier, in 2016, too. He was detained that year under the Public Safety Act for two and half months after being prevented from travelling to Geneva. The Jammu and Kashmir high court had, while ordering his release, called his custody illegal.In 2023, Parvez was named one of the three recipients of the 2023 Martin Ennals Award. The award, named after a famed British human rights activist, recognises “outstanding activists who pioneered human rights”.