The Bombay High Court on Friday granted bail to the German Bakery bomb blast convict Mirza Himayat Baig in a 2010 Nashik terror plot case.
A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and Gauri Godse granted bail to Baig on payment of Rs 1 lakh and furnishing two sureties. He has also been directed to report to the Nashik officer of the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on the second Saturday every month. The court has also directed him not to leave the jurisdiction of the Nashik court.
Baig had filed appeal against special court's order
The high court was hearing an appeal filed by Baig challenging the order of the special court rejecting his bail plea.
Baig is currently serving a life sentence at Nashik Central Prison for his involvement in the bomb blast in German Bakery in Pune in which 17 people were killed and at least 60 persons were injured.
Baig’s counsel Mubin Solkar had submitted that he has been in prison since his arrest by the ATS, 13 years ago. Subsequently, the Maharashtra police took his custody in the alleged Nashik terror plot case.
What is the case?
Along with Baig, two other persons — Sheikh Lal Baba and Abu Jundal.— were accused in the case. Jundal was also implicated in the 2008 Mumbai 26/11 terror attack and is currently undergoing trial. Sheikh, who was arrested a month before Baig was arrested, is allegedly the main accused and the police seized some substance believed to be RDX from him, argued Solkar.
According to the ATS, the accused had plans to enter Nashik, but they were arrested before they could carry out any terror activity.
Solkar said that the entire prosecution case relies on statements of two witnesses who studied with Baig. They claimed that in December 2006, a meeting was held where Baig allegedly instigated them to join the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
At the time, LeT was not even a banned terrorist organisation. LeT was declared a terrorist organisation only on December 31, 2008. Therefore, the allegation of instigating someone to join LeT or that Baig was a member of a banned organisation cannot stand, Solkar argued.
He further argued that the witnesses never went anywhere and were never actually recruited, Solkar added.
Additional Public Prosecutor Prajakta Shinde had opposed the bail plea contending that Baig had sent some recruits to Pakistan. She informed the court the trial has examined 24 witnesses and yet 30 more are to be examined.
