MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court (HC) on Tuesday granted bail to Farooq Shaukat Bagwan, arrested in connection with the 2012 serial bomb blasts in Pune, on grounds of parity and inordinate delay in concluding the trial.
Advocate Mubin Solkar, appearing for Bagwan, informed the court that the latter has been behind bars for over 12 years while another accused in the case, Munib Iqbal Memon, has already been granted bail in September 2024. Solkar argued that Bagwan deserves to be granted bail on grounds of parity.
Additional public prosecutor Vinod Chate opposed the plea, contending that Bagwan had prepared forged documents on his computer which were subsequently used by Memon for obtaining SIM cards and that he had also provided his shop premises to the co-accused for planning the serial bomb blasts.
A division bench of justices A S Gadkari and Rajesh S Patil, however, held that Bagwan was entitled to bail on grounds of parity and due to the inordinate delay in concluding the trial. The bench held that the role attributed is similar to that of Memon. Further, the bench highlighted that the prosecution has examined only 27 out of the 170 witnesses cited, making it difficult to conclude the trial anytime soon.
The bench noted that Bagwan has no other criminal antecedents and hasn’t been charged with ‘murder’ under the Indian Penal Code (IPC). “Some of the offences with which the appellant is charged, a minimum sentence of five years and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, is prescribed therein,” the bench observed.
{{/usCountry}}The bench noted that Bagwan has no other criminal antecedents and hasn’t been charged with ‘murder’ under the Indian Penal Code (IPC). “Some of the offences with which the appellant is charged, a minimum sentence of five years and a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, is prescribed therein,” the bench observed.
{{/usCountry}}On August 1, 2012, five low-intensity explosions occurred in Pune, injuring one person and causing panic across the city. Apart from the five bombs, one live bomb found in the carrier basket of a bicycle parked near Axis Bank on Jangli Maharaj Road was diffused by the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad.
Accordingly, a complaint was registered with Deccan police station, Pune, which was subsequently transferred to the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) Mumbai, for offences punishable under the IPC, Explosive Substances Act, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), and Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), 1999.
Over the course of the investigation, it was revealed that the motive behind the blasts was to cause mass destruction of life and property and strike fear in the minds of the public at large. The ATS arrested nine people and found out that the blasts were part of a conspiracy to avenge the death of Qateel Siddique, operative of the banned outfit, Indian Mujahideen, who was killed in Yerawada jail on June 8, 2012.
Bagwan, who was arrested on December 26, 2012, and is currently in judicial custody at Mumbai Central Prison, moved the Bombay HC in 2024, seeking quashing of an order passed by the MCOCA court in 2021 which denied him bail. He was charged with preparing forged documents on his computer that were subsequently used by Munib Iqbal Memon for obtaining fake SIM cards. He was also charged with providing his shop premises to the co-accused for hatching the criminal conspiracy and planning the series of bomb blasts in Pune.