Mumbai, February 10 The Bombay High Court granted bail to a man arrested in connection with the 2011 Mumbai triple blasts that killed 27 people and left over 120 injured, citing his 14-year imprisonment and the delay in the trial.
A bench of Justices Ajey Gadkari and Shyam Chandak allowed the bail plea of the accused, Nadim Akthar Shaikh.
Shaikh, who is in his late 30s, was arrested in the case in January 2012.
The court noted that he had been in prison for over a decade, and there was no likelihood of the trial being completed in the near future.
It ordered Shaikh's release on a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh, along with one or more sureties of the same amount, among other conditions.
Shaikh had approached the high court in May 2022 after a special court rejected his bail plea and sought relief on the grounds of long incarceration pending trial in the case.
On July 13, 2011, Mumbai was rocked by a series of three blasts — at Zaveri Bazaar, Opera House and near a school in Dadar Kabutarkhana close to the railway station — within 10 minutes of each other.
The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) alleged that the terror outfit Indian Mujahideen had orchestrated the blasts, and its founder, Yasin Bhatkal, was the main conspirator.
The ATS had booked 11 accused under charges related to criminal conspiracy, murder, attempt to murder, causing hurt, and under relevant sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).
