Khurram Parvez, a human rights activist from Kashmir, and Irfan Mehraj, a journalist, were released from a New Delhi jail on July 22, 2026. A judge had approved their bail a few days earlier.

A District and Sessions Judge in New Delhi granted bail on July 18, 2026, according to FIDH. India's National Investigation Agency (NIA), the government agency that arrested both men, asked a higher court, the Delhi High Court, to stop the release. On July 21, 2026, the High Court refused to block the bail but added stricter rules on where Parvez and Mehraj can go and what they can do while it reviews the NIA's request, as Al Jazeera reported.

Under the bail conditions, described in a court document seen by the AFP news agency, Parvez and Mehraj must find their own place to live in New Delhi and are not allowed to travel to Kashmir. The NIA's case against them is still open.

Parvez was arrested at his home in Srinagar, Kashmir, in 2021. Mehraj, who worked as a researcher for Parvez's organization and also as a freelance journalist, was arrested in 2023. Both are accused of "funding terrorism" and "propagation of secessionist agenda" under India's antiterrorism laws. The NIA says they used their organization to funnel money to militant groups and push for Kashmir to break away from India. Both men say they are innocent.

Parvez leads a group called the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS). For decades, JKCCS has documented alleged human rights violations by Indian government forces in Kashmir, including torture and unlawful killings. The organization's work has made it a frequent target of Indian authorities, who say its reporting is a cover for funding separatist activities.

The case has drawn international attention. In 2023, a United Nations body called the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention said Parvez's arrest was "an act of reprisal for his human rights work, and an attempt to silence him and Kashmiri civil society as a whole." That statement from the UN added pressure on Indian authorities, who have described the case as a straightforward counterterrorism matter.

The two sides are telling very different stories. The NIA treats JKCCS's work as essentially the same as supporting militants. The UN body sees Parvez's detention as part of a pattern of governments punishing people who document abuses in conflict zones. Mehraj's arrest, two years after Parvez's, raises similar concerns about press freedom, since he is both a researcher and a journalist.

There is something worth noting in the bail conditions. Making both men stay in New Delhi instead of letting them return to Kashmir keeps them away from the communities and people they work with. The High Court's decision to allow the release but tighten the rules is a compromise: the government keeps some control through its ongoing appeal, while accepting that holding them any longer without a trial was not justified.

The broader context here is about how India uses its antiterrorism laws. Parvez spent nearly five years in jail before trial. That is because India's main antiterrorism law, the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), sets a very high bar for granting bail, which means people can wait years in jail before their case is decided. The fact that a judge ultimately granted bail suggests the evidence was not strong enough to keep holding them at that level. The NIA's appeal shows the agency wants to challenge that decision.

The case also connects to the wider situation in Kashmir. In 2019, the Indian government revoked Article 370, a constitutional provision that had given Kashmir a degree of self-rule, and placed the region under more direct control from New Delhi. JKCCS was one of the few organizations producing detailed reports on casualties and abuses in the conflict. With its leader and researcher now out on restrictive bail but stuck in New Delhi, it is unclear whether the organization can resume its work in any real way.

The NIA's appeal at the Delhi High Court is still pending. The outcome will determine whether the bail holds and under what conditions Parvez and Mehraj can live and work while the case continues.