HC notice to NIA on Delhi High Court blast accused bail plea

The Delhi High Court today sought response from NIA on a bail application filed by Wasim Akram Malik, facing trial for his alleged role in the September 2011 High Court blast here.
A bench of Justices P K Bhasin and V P Vaish, while issuing notice to National Investigation Agency (NIA), directed the agency to submit their reply by January 22, next year.
Malik has sought setting aside of the trial court order dismissing his bail application in September this year.
"The appellant/accused (Malik) seeks setting aside of the impugned order dated September 26, 2013, wherein Special Court NIA has unjustifiably and erroneously without appreciating the law as prescribed by the enactment Unlawful Activities Prevention Act as well as CrPC more particularly 173 (5) and laid down by the Supreme Court through numerous case laws, has dismissed the application of statutory bail under section 167 (2) CrPC as filed by the appellant," his counsel Mehmood Pracha argued.

He claimed in the court that his client was falsely implicated and arrested in connection with a vague FIR on October 6, 2011.
The special NIA court had framed charges against Malik for various offences including that of waging war against India.
The blast had left 15 people dead. The court had framed charges under sections 121 (waging war against country), 121-A (conspiring to commit certain offences against the state), 122 (collecting arms with intention of waging war against government) and 123 (concealing with intent to felicitate a design to wage war) of the IPC against Malik.
Earlier, the trial court had declined NIA's plea to prosecute Malik under stringent charge of waging war against India which entails maximum punishment of death penalty, but the Delhi High Court had ruled otherwise.