4 min readMumbaiDec 10, 2024 07:09 PM IST
First published on: Dec 10, 2024 at 05:38 PM IST
The Bombay High Court Monday granted bail to 14 men arrested for their alleged involvement in the communal clashes in the Naya Nagar area of Mira Road in Maharashtra’s Thane district in January this year, saying their “further detention as under-trial prisoners appears tenuous”.
They were arrested on the basis of the FIR registered by the police after the clashes on the night of January 21, hours before the consecration of Ram Mandir in Uttar Pradesh’s Ayodhya.
As per the complaint registered by a man, Vinod Jaiswal, he and his family members and associates attended a devotional event on the eve of Ram Temple’s consecration and went for a drive in three to four cars and 10 to 15 two-wheelers. Jaiswal said when the convoy proceeded towards Lodha Road, a Muslim boy allegedly accosted him. As per the complaint, the boy asked Jaiswal to wait and, thereafter, a mob armed with rods, sticks, knives etc surrounded the convoy, allegedly started shouting slogans and attacking vehicles, abusing and assaulting Jaiswal and his associates.
A single-judge bench of Justice N J Jamadar observed that prima facie, premeditation or a prior meeting of mind to attack the members of the convoy cannot be inferred on the part of applicants, “as the very entry of the informant party into the said locality was a matter of chance”. “Prima facie, it does not appear that CCTV cameras had captured any of the applicants assaulting Jaiswal using a knife, as alleged, or for that matter, any of the injured witnesses,” said Justice Jamadar.
Justice Jamadar also added that there was no material to indicate that one of the applicants was a member of the unlawful assembly, yet he was arrested for the crime on September 29, despite having any connection with the incident.
“In the case at hand, the alleged rioting was committed by more than 50 to 60 persons. Where the guilt of the accused would hinge upon their identity as the members of the unlawful assembly, who shared the common object to commit the alleged offences, their further detention as under-trial prisoners appears tenuous,” Justice Jamadar noted.
Justice Jamadar added that “investigation in the matter was complete for all intent and purpose” and “applicants appeared to have roots in the society to tie them down to their place of abode and avocation.” Therefore, the judge said, the possibilities of them fleeing away from justice, tampering with evidence and threatening witnesses appeared “remote”.
Justice Jamadar said the applicants have been in custody since January and considering the nature of the incident, the number of accused and witnesses, and the nature of evidence the prosecution may require to produce, “it appears extremely unlikely that the trial can be concluded within a reasonable period”. “The further detention of the applicants as under-trial prisoners thus appears unwarranted. I am, therefore, inclined to exercise the discretion in favour of the applicants,” the judge noted while granting bail to the applicants,” Justice Jamadar held.
The bench asked the applicants to furnish personal bond of Rs 30, 000 each along with sureties of the same amount and to report to the Naya Nagar Police Station once every alternate month for three years or till the conclusion of the trial, whichever is earlier.
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