Bombay High Court Grants Bail To Accused In 2012 Pune Serial Blasts Case

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday (September 9) granted bail to one of the accused in the 2012 serial bomb blasts case in Pune on the ground of delayed trial.

Five low intensity explosions took place in Pune City on the evening of August 1, 2012, in which one person was injured. Apart from five bomb blasts, one live bomb was found in the carrier basket of Hero Street Ranger black colour bicycle, parked outside a busy area outside a shop in Pune. The same was defused by the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad, Pune.

Initially, the case was registered with the Deccan Police Station, Pune and later the said crime was transferred for further investigation with the Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) Police Station, Mumbai.

During the course of investigation, it was revealed that, the motive behind commission of the said crime was to cause mass destruction of life and property and to strike terror in the minds of general public at large.

These attacks were orchestrated, as per the ATS, to avenge the custodial death of Indian Mujahideen operative Qateel Siddique, who was killed in Yerwada jail earlier in 2012.

The prosecution accused Bagwan of forging documents, which were later used by another co-accused to obtain SIM cards. The appellant was also booked for providing his shop as a meeting place for the other co-accused to conspire the blasts.

A division bench of Justices Ajay Gadkari and Rajesh Patil noted that the Appellant Farooq Bagwan had been in custody for 12 and a half years and that there were bleak chances of trial to conclude at the earliest.

"The Appellant has already undergone pre-trial incarceration of more than 12 ½ years. As of today, the prosecution has examined only 27 witnesses out of 170 witnesses cited by it. It is thus 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 a speedy trial of an accused is a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution of India," the judges observed in the order.

The judges further noted that co-accused Munib Memon, who used the forged documents prepared by Bagwan to procure a SIM Card, was also released on bail and thus ordered the appellant's release on the grounds of parity.

The bench ordered the appellant to furnish a surety of Rs 1 lakh to avail bail.

Appearance:

Advocates Mubin Solkar, Tahir Hussain, Anas Shaikh, Hemal Shah and Tahera Qureshi appeared for the Appellant. Additional Public Prosecutor Vinod Chate represented the State.

Case Title: Farooq Shaukat Bagwan vs State of Maharashtra (Criminal Appeal 300 of 2024)

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