Mumbai: Asgar Kadar Shaikh and Mohammad Yakub Nagul, both accused in the Mumbai Local train blast case have applied for bail with the Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court. Other accused in this case have been granted bail on account of fear of coronavirus spread in jail. On basis of this, the two accused have also applied for bail. The accused have stated in their bail application that they are eligible for bail as per the directive guidelines laid down by the high level committee of state government.
Shaikh and Nagul have been found guilty in the 1998 Mumbai local train serial blast case. Many innocent citizens had lost lives in the five blasts that rocked the Mumbai city 22 years ago. Considering the present Covid-19 pandemic, the Supreme Court has ordered to grant bail to inmates to prevent coronavirus outbreak in the jails. According to the Supreme Court order, the state government had formed a high level committee which has laid down the guiding principles for granting bail to jail inmates. Thousands of inmates have been released on bail from various jails so far.
Hearing on bail application of Shaikh and Nagul took place through video conferencing in front of Justice Ravi Deshpande and Justice Amit Borkar of the Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court. The bench has issued notice to the jail administration and instructed them to file their say on the matter before June 16. Since the accused are involved in a serious matter like a serial bomb blast, their bail has been rejected earlier. The jail administration will have to make their position clear on this issue.
Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court issued notice to authorities on a petition filed by convicts seeking emergency parole.
