The high court overturned an order of a special court refusing bail to a man who allegedly joined ISIS
The Bombay High Court on Friday granted bail to a 28-year-old man, arrested for allegedly being associated with banned terror outfit ISIS.
A division bench of Justices SS Shinde and NJ Jamadar allowed the petition filed by Iqbal Ahmed Kabir Ahmed challenging an order of a special court refusing bail to him.
"The order passed by the special court is quashed. The appellant (Ahmed) shall be released on bail upon furnishing a bond of Rs one lakh and one or two solvent sureties of the same amount," the bench said.
The bench noted that while there existed a bar on grant of bail under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), under which Ahmed had been charged, his continued incarceration without any chance of the trial in the case concluding soon, would be a breach of his constitutional right to life and liberty.
The court directed Ahmed to appear before the National Investigation Agency (NIA) twice a week for the first month and then once a week for the next two months.
"The appellant shall attend each and every date of the trial and shall not hamper or get in touch with the witnesses in the case," the bench said.
Ahmed was arrested on August 7, 2016 and charged under the stringent provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for being part of a terror outfit and under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The prosecution's case was that Ahmed was part of the ISIS's 'Parbhani module', who were purportedly planning to carry out a terror attack on the office of the Superintendent of Police in Parbhani.
The NIA, the prosecuting agency in the case, had told the court that as per witness statements, Ahmed and his friends used to gather in the evenings to discuss alleged "atrocities against Islam" across the world, and think about "avenging" such atrocities.
The court, however, took note of the submissions made by Ahmed's counsel, senior advocate Mihir Desai, who said that mere discussions did not constitute the commission of an offence.
Mr Desai argued that there was no evidence against the petitioner and that the trial in the case is yet to commence and there are over 150 witnesses to be examined.
"First and foremost, the tenor of the statements of the witnesses, even if taken at par, would indicate that the accused persons used to have discussions over the threats to Islam - real, perceived or imaginary," the court said.
"At this juncture, there is no prima facie material to indicate that the accused instigated the commission of offence or insurgency, or that he advocated violent reactions," it said.
The high court quashed and set aside the special court's order that had denied bail to Ahmed.
"The denial of bail, in such circumstances would render the procedure not only unreasonable but unconscionable as well," the court observed.
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