Jammu, Oct. 8 -- A special NIA court here has rejected the bail application of separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shah in connection with a case arising from a 1996 FIR relating to violence, stone-pelting and firing on police personnel during a funeral procession in Srinagar.

While rejecting the bail plea, Special Judge Prem Sagar held that the application "needs no consideration at this stage", observing that there was a "well-founded apprehension" that if released, Shah was likely to continue such activities to the detriment of national security and public order.

Shah (73) was arrested in April by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with the three-decade-old terror case related to mob violence and firing on policemen dur...