Court rejects Mumbai blasts accused plea to attend daughter’s wedding

The court, however, allowed the accused to be present at four key ceremonies under strict police escort and subject to financial conditions

MUMBAI: A special TADA court hearing the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case on Wednesday rejected the interim bail application filed by an accused, seeking temporary release to attend his youngest daughter’s wedding. The court, however, allowed him to be present at four key ceremonies under strict police escort and subject to financial conditions.

Court rejects Mumbai blasts accused plea to attend daughter’s wedding

Special Judge VD Kedar refused interim bail to Ahmed Kamal Shaikh, alias Ahmed Lambu but allowed him to attend the haldi, mehndi, nikah and walima functions between December 2 and 7.

Shaikh, arrested in May 2018 after allegedly absconding for 27 years, is accused of being part of the group trained in Karachi in handling arms and explosives for the 12 coordinated explosions that shook Mumbai on March 12, 1993, killing 257 people and injuring 713.

According to investigators, he fled to Dubai a year after the blasts, where he ran an electronics shop, before his eventual arrest by the Gujarat ATS.

While seeking interim bail from November 20 to December 15 to attend his daughter Asma’s wedding, Shaikh argued that he had maintained good conduct throughout his custody period and had never misused earlier liberties.

He noted that in 2018 and 2023 he was permitted, under escort, to attend the weddings of his two elder daughters, and had also been allowed to attend his mother’s condolence meeting in February 2024. His counsel contended that the present occasion was the “last happy event” in the family and that his presence was emotionally significant.

The CBI’s Special Task Force, however, opposed the bail plea, stressing the “seriousness of the offence” and that the risk of absconding was “high”. It reminded the court that previous requests for temporary bail on similar grounds had been rejected, with only escorted attendance granted.

Judge Kedar held that granting interim bail was not permissible given the gravity of the charges. On the functions the accused is allowed to attend, the court said the escort would accompany him only during the event hours, and he must return to prison immediately thereafter. He has been barred from using communication devices, contacting absconding accused, leaving the venue premises or engaging in any illegal activity. Any “untoward incident”, the court warned, would result in immediate withdrawal of the permission.