A Mumbai court has refused to grant bail to a Bangladesh national accused of illegally entering India and staying here without valid documents.
Additional sessions judge Abhijeet Nandgaonkar rejected the plea of Mohammad Imran Ali Shaikh on Tuesday, saying if the accused is released on bail, it will "give a wrong message to society and boost problems of illegal and unauthorised migration faced by India".
Shaikh was earlier arrested a case was registered against him by Vakola police under provisions of the Passport (Entry into India) Rules-1950 and the Foreigners Act-1946.
This was his second attempt to seek bail.
Earlier, his plea was rejected by a metropolitan magistrate on the ground that he could not produce valid documents to show he is an Indian citizen.
In his plea before the sessions court, the accused claimed he has not committed any crime and the case registered against him is "false and baseless".
He also claimed he is a permanent resident of Mumbai.
However, the prosecution submitted that he violated provisions of the Passport Act and the Foreigners Act.
Shaikh illegally migrated to India from Bangaladesh and is residing here without taking valid permission from government authorities or having valid documents, the prosecution told the court.
After perusal of documents on record and arguments of both the sides, the additional sessions judge said prima facie, it is clear that the accused is a permanent resident of Bangladesh.
The court also didn't find any merit in his bail application, and said the observations of the magistrate's court while rejecting the bail plea are correct and proper.
"How the accused secured the Aadhaar card is again a question to be investigated in detail by the probe agency to bust the scandal," the court said.
It appears the accused not only forged the documents, but also illegally entered into India. By taking the law into his hands, he committed breach of the rules and regulations, the court observed.
