The Bombay High Court on Tuesday granted bail to Farooq Shaukat Bagwan, one of the accused in the 2012 Pune serial bomb blasts case, citing grounds of parity with a co-accused already released on bail and the inordinate delay in completing the trial.
A division bench of Justices A.S. Gadkari and Rajesh S. Patil observed that Bagwan had been in custody for more than 12 years and that the progress of the trial offered little hope of early conclusion. The court noted that the prosecution had so far examined only 27 of the 170 witnesses cited.
Advocate Mubin Solkar, representing Bagwan, argued that the accused deserved bail as another co-accused, Munib Iqbal Memon, had already been granted bail in September 2024 on similar grounds. Solkar stressed that Bagwan’s continued incarceration without substantial progress in trial amounted to denial of justice.
Opposing the plea, Additional Public Prosecutor Vinod Chate contended that Bagwan’s role was active and significant. He alleged that Bagwan had prepared forged documents on his computer, which were later used by Memon to procure fake SIM cards, and that he had also allowed his shop premises to be used by co-accused for planning the blasts.
The bench, however, held that Bagwan’s role was not greater than that of Memon, who had already been granted bail, and therefore, parity demanded similar treatment. The court further emphasized that Bagwan had no prior criminal record and was not charged under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code.
“Some of the offences with which the appellant is charged prescribe a minimum sentence of five years and a maximum of life imprisonment,” the judges noted, while stressing that prolonged detention without conclusion of trial could not be justified.
On August 1, 2012, five low-intensity blasts rocked Pune, injuring one person and sparking widespread panic. A live bomb was also found near an Axis Bank branch on Jangli Maharaj Road and defused by the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad.
The case was initially registered with Deccan police and later transferred to the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS). Investigators arrested nine individuals and alleged that the blasts were part of a conspiracy by members of the banned outfit Indian Mujahideen to avenge the custodial death of operative Qateel Siddique in Yerawada jail in June 2012.
Bagwan, arrested on December 26, 2012, has remained in judicial custody at Mumbai Central Prison. He had earlier sought bail before the MCOCA court, which rejected his plea in 2021. The present HC order comes in appeal against that rejection.
