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Journalism of Courage
Saying that PDP leader Abdul Nasser Madanis illness was a smokescreen,the Karnataka government on Friday told the Supreme Court that he could pose a major threat to national security if released on bail. Madani is a key accused in the 2008 Bangalore bomb blast case.
Senior advocate T R Andhiarujina,appearing for Karnataka,tried to impress on the court that Madani would only come out to engage in fresh conspiracies.
The medical illness and ailments claimed by him are all a smokescreen to come out on bail, the senior advocate told a Bench of Justices Markandeya Katju and Gyan Sudha Misra.
He said Madani was also a key conspirator in the Surat and Ahmedabad bomb blasts. This was after Justice Katju indicated that the court may grant bail to Madani on medical grounds,though not on merit,as he was on a wheelchair and suffering from a host of medical problems like slip disc,spondylitis,hypertension,etc.
Justice Katju had wondered how a wheelchair-bound person can pose a security threat. The state argued that his handicap had not seemed to obstruct Madani from travelling extensively,even abroad.
Incidentally,Justice Misra observed in court that the accused was facing a serious charge. Senior advocate Shanti Bhushan,appearing for Madani,alleged that his client was innocent and falsely implicated.
Bhushan said Madani was kept in prison for over nine-and-half years in connection with Coimbatore bomb blasts but was eventually acquitted by the court.
The Bench asked Andhiarujina to put the states objections in an affidavit to which Madani would also respond likewise. The case is posted for Wednesday.
Two persons were killed and 20 injured in serial blasts in Bangalore city in nine locations in 2008.
