A designated TADA court has reserved till July 10 its order on a bail plea of Essa Memon, younger brother of Tiger Memon, prime conspirator in the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blast case.
The order was reserved by designated judge PD Kode who heard the arguments of CBI and Essa's lawyer Harshad Ponda on Friday.
Ponda sought Essa's interim bail on medical grounds saying he was obese and was gaining weight in jail. Essa's hair was falling off and he was getting rashes on his body.
The defence lawyer relied on the statement of Essa's family doctor who told the court that the accused needed a thorough examination and that would not be possible in jail.
Earlier, Essa had been sent to government-run JJ hospital for treatment but he was not cured, he argued.
Essa has been in custody since his arrest on August 25, 1994. He is charged with participating in the conspiracy along with his elder brother Tiger Memon to conduct serial bomb blasts in Mumbai in 1993 on instructions from underworld don Dawood Ibrahim.
A day prior to the blasts, Essa had escaped to Dubai and did not return. CBI claimed that they had arrested him in Delhi while the accused said he had surrendered before Indian Embassy in Dubai along with other family members and was sent to India on a certificate issued by the Embassy as he was not holding valid passport and documents.
{{/usCountry}}A day prior to the blasts, Essa had escaped to Dubai and did not return. CBI claimed that they had arrested him in Delhi while the accused said he had surrendered before Indian Embassy in Dubai along with other family members and was sent to India on a certificate issued by the Embassy as he was not holding valid passport and documents.
{{/usCountry}}CBI pleaded that at this juncture it was not prudent to grant Essa bail because the court was on the verge of giving its verdict in the blast case.
Moreover, CBI said, Essa had been given treatment in jail and hospital.