In a significant development in the decades-old Rubaiya Sayeed abduction case, a Special TADA Court on Tuesday ordered the release of a Srinagar resident arrested by the CBI, while also cancelling arrest warrants against seven others, citing procedural errors.
The court directed the immediate release of Shafat Ahmad Shangloo, who had been taken into custody a day earlier. The presiding judge observed that his name had been &ldquo;inadvertently or mistakenly&rdquo; included by the investigating agency, and that he did not figure in the list of accused against whom arrest warrants were valid.
In its order, the court noted that Shangloo had earlier been discharged from the case due to lack of evidence and was never named in the relevant arrest warrant issued in the early 1990s. On this basis, the judge ruled that his arrest was unjustified.
The court also reviewed older warrants linked to alleged absconders in the case. It clarified that a general warrant issued decades ago specifically mentioned only a limited set of names and did not include Shangloo. Further examination showed that several other individuals were similarly not part of the original judicial orders.
To prevent unnecessary action by authorities and to spare individuals the hardship and social stigma associated with arrest, the court went on to quash arrest warrants against seven people whose names were not explicitly included in earlier directions.
The Rubaiya Sayeed abduction took place in December 1989, when the daughter of the then Union home minister was kidnapped in Srinagar. She was released days later following the release of jailed militants in exchange.
The case, initially investigated in the early 1990s, has seen renewed attention in recent years, including the framing of charges against a group of accused in 2021. A limited number of them have since been identified by the victim.
The court&rsquo;s latest order has raised questions over lapses in the identification of accused and underlined the need for accuracy and due caution in reviving long-pending criminal cases.

Court Flags Goof-Up in Rubaiya Sayeed Case

Special TADA Court frees wrongly arrested man, cancels warrants against seven

Court Flags Goof-Up in Rubaiya Sayeed Case

Special TADA Court frees wrongly arrested man, cancels warrants against seven

December 4, 2025 | 19:33 IST