On Friday, the Bombay High Court granted bail to Bilal Ahmed Abdul Razaq, who was convicted of life imprisonment in the 2006 Aurangabad arms haul case by a special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court. Bilal was detained on May 27, 2006. Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and V G Bisht issued an order granting Bilal’s request for bail until the hearing and ultimate disposition of his appeal against his conviction in the Aurangabad arms haul case.
The special court in July 2016 sentenced six others, including 26/11 plotter Sayed Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal, to life in jail until death in the Aurangabad case. It had also sentenced two prisoners to 14 years in prison, while the remaining three had received eight-year terms. The special court acquitted eight others on all charges.
According to the reports, on May 8, 2006, a Maharashtra ATS squad pursued automobiles on the Chandwad-Manmad route near Aurangabad and apprehended three terror suspects. Jundal, the driver of one of the automobiles, had fled the scene. After being deported from Saudi Arabia, he was ultimately apprehended in 2012. Six AK-47 rifles, 3,200 live cartridges, 43 kg of RDX, and 50 hand grenades were also confiscated by the ATS in Khultabad, Yeola, and Malegaon. The prosecution claimed that the weapons were part of a bigger terror scheme.
Bilal’s lawyer, Mubin Solkar, told the court that there was no evidence to suggest his client was involved in any plot because no particular function was given to him. Solkar went on to say that because Bilal has been detained for over 13 years and his appeal would take some time to be heard, he should be freed on bail awaiting the outcome of his appeal. The state government’s special counsel, senior attorney Raja Thakare, however, rejected the plea, claiming that the nature of the offenses and overwhelming evidence showing Bilal’s guilt made it unfit for him to be released on bail.
The High Court, taking note of co-accused Mohd Amir’s confession stated, “It is clear that he Amir preached or asked Bilal on several occasions to be ready for jihad, which amounted to incriminating material against Bilal and also showed that he was involved in the common thought process/conspiracy to strike jihad.” The special judge further noted that Bilal followed other suspects to Kashmir, where he met a man named Junaid and was introduced to other terrorists.
“Merely because Bilal attended meetings or was urged to join Jihad, it cannot be construed as a preparedness or intent on his side to play a prominent role in Jihad, particularly where there is no prima facie cogent and persuasive evidence against him,” the HC stated adding that in Amir’s confessional testimony, no damning deed is attributed to Bilal.
It went on to say that because Amir’s confessional statement had been repudiated and disowned, the special judge’s findings based on it “looked to be not grounded on evidence on record.” The HC further ruled that the failure to produce call data records for Bilal’s cellphone number would not result in any adverse inference.
“We are prima facie of the view that (Bilal) has made out a good case for grant of bail and suspension of his sentences, pending the hearing and final disposal of his appeal. It has to be taken into consideration that he has been in jail for more than 16 years and therefore, this material aspect will have to be borne in mind. We are, therefore, inclined to grant the application”, the Court said.
The HC directed Bilal to be released on furnishing Rs 50,000 as a personal bond with sureties and asked him to report to the trial court once in three months till his appeal is disposed. It has also ordered Bilal to keep the trial court updated on his current address and contact information regularly. It cautioned that if there are two consecutive failures to appear before the trial court, the prosecution will be free to seek bail revocation.
