Umamageswari Maruthappan
The Bombay High Court upheld the Special Court’s order of granting bail to Areeb Majeed who has been convicted of being involved with the ISIS terrorist organisation.
The Bench comprising Justices S. S. Shinde and Manish Pitale, however, clearly stated that the bail petition is accepted only on the grounds of pendency of trial and not with respect to the merits of the case.
Rejecting the appeal of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the Bombay High Court granted bail to Majeed on the condition of furnishing Rs. 1 Lakh as security and on the assurance of not leaving his place of residence, Kalyan (Thane, Maharashtra).
The 21-year old was arrested in November 2014 under the relevant sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code on the charge that he had flown to Syria with the intention of joining the ISIS terrorist group and has returned back to India to carry out terrorist activities.
However, the accused had pleaded that he had travelled to Syria only “to help people”. The NIA Special Court accepted his bail plea and granted permission following which the NIA had filed an appeal before the Bombay High Court.
In earlier February 2021, the High Court had stayed the grant of the petition until the completion of the appeal hearings.The Bench also questioned Majeed’s contentions. “Why would a 21-year-old go to Iraq for people who he has never met in his life by leaving his family behind? Don’t you have enough suffering around you,” it interrogated.
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