On Thursday, the Supreme Court asked separatist leader Yasin Malik and others to respond to a request from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to move the trial of two cases from Jammu to New Delhi. The court, led by Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih, issued a notice to Malik and the other accused, asking them to file their response by December 18.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the bench during the hearings that Tihar jail has a court with video-conferencing capabilities, therefore Malik does not need to be physically sent to Jammu court for the kidnapping case trial. "We have filed applications for amending the cause title. We have also placed on record the fact that there already exists a fully functional court in the jail itself with all the facilities for video conferencing also if needed. And in the past proceedings have taken place in that courtroom in jail," SG Mehta submitted to the court.

The case is scheduled for the next hearing on December 18. The Supreme Court is considering a request from the CBI to challenge a decision made by a Jammu trial court on September 20, 2022. The trial court had ordered that Malik, who is serving a life sentence in Tihar jail, be brought to court in person to cross-examine the prosecution witnesses in the kidnapping case of Rubaiya Sayeed, the daughter of politician Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. The bench had said earlier that it might order a trial to be held within the jail in addition to requesting the judge to travel to the national capital for the proceedings, noting that even Mumbai terror attack convict Ajmal Kasab received a fair trial.

Mehta had mentioned that Malik's presence in the Supreme Court had raised security concerns before. Mehta reported a "serious security lapse" to then-Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla in 2023 after Malik was taken to the Supreme Court to appear in a case. Malik, who is serving a life sentence for terror funding, was brought to the Supreme Court’s high-security premises in a prison van with armed guards, without permission from the court. Surprised by his presence, Mehta informed the court that there is a proper procedure for allowing high-risk prisoners to appear in court personally.

The CBI stated that Malik, a leading figure of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, posed a threat to national security and should not be allowed to leave Tihar jail. On April 24, 2023, the Supreme Court issued notices on the CBI's appeal. In response, Malik wrote a letter on May 26, 2023, asking for permission to appear in person and present his case. The assistant registrar reviewed his request on July 18, 2023, and mentioned that the Supreme Court would make a decision. However, the Tihar jail authorities misunderstood this and allowed Malik to appear in court to argue his case. 

Mehta pointed out the CBI's argument in its appeal against the trial court's decision, which ordered Malik to be brought to Jammu for an in-person examination of witnesses in the kidnapping case. He mentioned that under Section 268 of the CrPC, the state government can prevent certain individuals from being moved out of prison. On September 20, 2022, a special TADA court in Jammu instructed that Malik be physically brought to court at the next hearing to cross-examine the prosecution witnesses in the kidnapping case. The CBI appealed the trial court's order to the Supreme Court, as only the top court hears appeals in TADA cases.

Rubaiya Sayeed was kidnapped on December 8, 1989, near Lal Ded Hospital in Srinagar, and released five days later after five terrorists were liberated by the then-BJP-backed V P Singh administration at the centre. The CBI took over the case in the early 1990s, and Sayeed, who currently resides in Tamil Nadu, is a prosecution witness. In May 2023, a special NIA court condemned Malik in a terror-funding case, and he is currently incarcerated in Tihar jail.