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Mumbai, Nov 4 (IANS) The Bombay High Court on Tuesday granted bail to a 65-year-old accused in the 2011 Mumbai triple blast case, accepting the lengthy trial as a valid reason for the relief sought by the Bihar resident.
Kafeel Ahmed Mohammed Ayub, 65, will come out of jail on bail after furnishing a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh, almost 13 years after he was arrested in the 2011 Mumbai triple blasts case.
While granting relief to Ayub, a bench of Justices AS Gadkari and Ranjitsinh Raja Bhosle took into consideration the fact that the prosecution had examined only 173 of the 800 listed witnesses till May 2022 – the month in which the bail plea was filed by him.
The accused’s lawyer Mobin Solkar argued that keeping him in indefinite detention is unconstitutional.
He said Ayub, who hails from Bihar, was kept in jail for more than a decade before trial, with no possibility of a speedy trial.
Solkar later told reporters that the bench had said that “the Supreme Court judgment in KA Najeeb’s case will be applicable to this case and in view of the same, he (Kafeel) is entitled to bail.”
According to the apex court’s 2021 judgment in the KA Najeeb case, granting bail to an accused in the event of a lengthy trial is part of his constitutional right to life and speedy trial.
Three blasts in Mumbai took place on July 13, 2011, at Zaveri Bazaar, Opera House and Dadar Pigeon Khana, killing 21 and injuring 113. The police had registered a case against 11 accused, including alleged members of the Indian Mujahideen.
The case was investigated by Mumbai ATS and Delhi Police arrested Ayub in February 2012. Since then he is lodged in Mumbai’s Arthur Road Jail.
The prosecution alleged that Ayub allegedly instigated some youth to wage “jihad” and provided assistance to them in connivance with key accused Yasin Bhatkal – a top IM operative. Bhatkal, who is serving death sentence for the Hyderabad blasts, is also one of the accused in the Mumbai triple blasts case.
In his bail plea, Ayub argued that the charges against him were vague and the prosecution had nowhere mentioned that he had any knowledge of the bombing plot.
Ayub said in his bail application that he is an Indian citizen and has no intention of absconding and denying him bail after being in jail for so many years is against democracy and the rule of law.
–IANS
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