Pune blasts case: Bombay HC grants bail to accused after 12 years in jail

The Bombay High Court has granted bail to an accused in the 2012 Pune blasts case, citing long incarceration and delay in the trial.

Farooq Bagwan, the applicant, has been in jail for more than 12 years and the possibility of the trial completing in the near future is remote, said a bench of Justices A S Gadkari and Rajesh Patil in the order passed on Tuesday. At present only 27 out of 170 witnesses have been examined by the trial court, the HC noted. Further, apart from the present offence, Bagwan has no other criminal antecedents, it said.

"It is clear that the possibility of trial concluding in the near future appears to be remote. It is by now well settled principle of law that the right to speedy trial of an accused is a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution of India," the court said.

The bench granted bail to Bagwan on a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh. Five low-intensity blasts took place on the busy Junglee Maharaj Road in Pune on August 1, 2012, injuring one person.

Bagwan was arrested in December 2012 by the state Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) for his alleged involvement.

The prosecution's case is that the blasts were carried out to avenge the death of Qateel Siddique, an Indian Mujahideen operative, who was killed in the Yerawada prison in Pune in June 2012. The ATS arrested a total of nine persons for their alleged role in the blasts.

Bagwan had prepared forged documents on his computer to procure SIM cards for mobile phones which were used by the co-accused, and the conspiracy was hatched in his shop premises, the ATS alleged.