pune german bakery case convict s death penalty commuted to life term
Mumbai: The Bombay high court quashed the death penalty of the lone convict in the 2010 German Bakery blast case, but said he would serve out a life sentence awarded
Mumbai: The Bombay high court quashed the death penalty of the lone convict in the 2010 German Bakery blast case, but said he would serve out a life sentence awarded to him for possession of explosives.
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The court on Thursday acquitted suspected Indian Mujahideen operative Himayat Baig of nine charges in connection with the blast that killed 17 people and injured 58 at the tourist eatery in Pune.
He was arrested in September 2010 and sentenced to death by a Pune court three years later.
The high court said the prosecution had relied on circumstantial evidence and failed to prove Baig had any role in manufacturing the bomb or helping others plant it.
Another arrested accused, Qateel Siddiqui, died in Pune’s Yerawada jail in 2012 after a scuffle with inmates. Half a dozen other accused are wanted.
The bomb was left in a backpack under a table at the popular restaurant, which is a few metres from an Osho ashram and a Jewish Chabad centre — both allegedly surveyed by Lashkar-e-Taiba operative David Coleman Headley, who scouted targets for the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
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Baig’s counsel, Mehmood Pracaha, told the court the prosecution had only established parts of the conspiracy and failed to link them.
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Baig’s counsel, Mehmood Pracaha, told the court the prosecution had only established parts of the conspiracy and failed to link them.
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The judges said the period already spent in prison by the convict will be considered as part of the life sentence.
Ayesha Arvind is a Senior Assistant Editor specialising in legal and judicial reportage. She covers High Courts and tribunals across southern India, and believes that important legal developments do not only come from New Delhi. Her work focuses on bringing significant decisions and developments from the region to a wider audience and explaining what they mean beyond the courtroom.
She tries to make legal material accessible by translating legal jargon into clear, readable prose and putting pleas, lawsuits, judgments and legal developments in context. She also looks at their political realities and practical consequences for people.
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Over almost two decades in journalism, she has covered law and order, civil law, crime and other areas of legal affairs. Her work includes breaking news, legal affairs stories, online analysis and commentary.
Ayesha is deeply interested in the law, court judgments and the Constitution because they shape everyday life. She believes every citizen should have a basic understanding of them. What she enjoys most about covering courts is that every story brings something new to learn.
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