Mumbai, April 29: In a detailed order rejecting the bail plea of Akhilendra Pratap Singh, an accused in the murder of former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique, the Bombay High Court has observed that there was sufficient prima facie material indicating his involvement in the crime.
Justice RM Joshi held that the stringent conditions for bail under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) were not satisfied in the present case.
The bail plea was rejected on April 24. However, the detailed order copy was made available on Wednesday. Singh had approached the HC after his plea was rejected by the special court.
State opposed bail plea
The bail plea was opposed by Special Public Prosecutor Mahesh Mule, representing the state, and Siddique’s family through advocates Pradip Gharat and Trivankumar Karnani.
Siddique was shot dead on October 12, 2024, outside his son Zeeshan Siddique’s office in Bandra (East). The investigation led to the arrest of 27 accused, with authorities invoking MCOCA provisions and filing a chargesheet.
Court cites evidence
In its order, the court underscored the seriousness of the offence and noted that, prima facie, there was material on record to show compliance with the requirements for invoking MCOCA.
Referring to the evidence, the court observed that the confessional statement of a co-accused specifically attributed the role of harbouring the assailants to Singh. It reiterated that such statements, recorded under Section 18 of MCOCA, are admissible in evidence during trial.
“This statement gets further support from call record indicating exchange of calls between the Applicant (Singh) and some of the co-accused,” the court noted, adding that the defence argument that the calls were merely due to village acquaintance could not be accepted at this stage.
The bench further observed that there was material to indicate that Singh and other accused were “acting together”, pointing to circumstances showing that they were apprehended from the same location. “At this stage, this aspect cannot be ignored,” the court said.
No case for bail, says HC
Singh’s advocate Satyavrat Joshi argued that there was no direct evidence or motive. To this, the court held that the material on record was sufficient at the prima facie stage to connect the applicant with the offence. It emphasised that the role attributed – harbouring members of an organised crime syndicate – was itself a serious offence punishable with imprisonment up to life.
“Having regard to the material evidence on record, this Court finds no substance in the contention of Applicant that he is innocent and he has not participated in the crime,” the order recorded.
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The court also took note of another offence registered against the applicant under the POCSO Act, observing that there was no reason to believe he would refrain from criminal activity if released on bail. The bail application was accordingly dismissed.
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