A division bench of the Bombay High Court, comprising Justice Ajay Gadkari and Justice Rajesh Patil, granted bail to Farooq Bagwan, one of the accused in the 2012 serial bomb blasts case in Pune, citing prolonged delay in the trial as the primary reason. The incident in question involved a series of five low intensity bomb explosions that took place in Pune city on the evening of August 1, 2012, injuring one person.

The Case In Brief :

Alongside these blasts, authorities discovered a live bomb inside the carrier basket of a black Hero Street Ranger bicycle parked outside a busy shop in Pune. This device was subsequently defused by the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad of Pune.

The case originally began at the Deccan Police Station in Pune but was later transferred to the Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) Police Station in Mumbai for further investigation. Throughout the investigation, it was revealed that the motive behind these bombings was to cause widespread destruction and instill fear among the general public.

The ATS indicated that these attacks were carried out to avenge the custodial death of Indian Mujahideen operative Qateel Siddique, who died in Yerwada jail earlier in 2012.

The prosecution accused Bagwan of forging documents, which were then used by another accused to acquire SIM cards. Additionally, Bagwan was implicated for allowing his shop to be used as a meeting place for the conspirators involved in planning the blasts.

The judges noted that Bagwan had already been detained for twelve and a half years prior to the trial and highlighted the bleak likelihood of the trial concluding soon.

They stated, "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 a 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."

Furthermore, the bench observed that co-accused Munib Memon, who had used forged documents prepared by Bagwan to obtain a SIM card, was also granted bail.

Consequently, the judges ordered Bagwan’s release on the grounds of parity. The court directed the appellant to furnish a surety bond of Rs 1 lakh to avail bail.

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

Advocate for Petitioners: Advocates Mubin Solkar, Adv Tahir Hussain, Anas Shaikh, Hemal Shah, and Tahera Qureshi,

Advocate for Respondents: Additional Public Prosecutor Vinod Chate represented the State.