New Delhi: The Supreme Court Thursday sought
Karnataka government`s response on the bail plea of PDP leader Abdul Nasser Madani, an accused in 2008 Bangalore serial blasts case, with the presiding judge wondering how a wheel
chair-bound person could pose a threat if released on bail.
A bench of justices Markandeya Katju and Gyan Sudha
Misra asked the state to respond within a week and posted the
matter for April 29.
Two persons were killed and 20 injured when serial
blasts rocked Bangalore city in nine locations in 2008.
During the brief hearing, Justice Katju wondered how a
person whose leg is amputated and lives with the help of wheel
chair could pose a threat if granted bail.
However, Justice Misra pointed out that the accused
was facing the serious charge of being involved in the blasts
which claimed lives.
Senior counsel Shanti Bhushan, appearing for Madani,
claimed that the accused was innocent and had been falsely
implicated.
The bench then sought the state government`s response
on the bail plea.
On February 11, the Karnataka High Court had rejected
Madani`s plea on the ground that if bail was granted to him
it would put the security of the state and the nation in jeopardy.
But the High Court directed jail authorities to take
steps to ensure that the health condition of Madani, who is
disabled and suffering from different ailments, does not
deteriorate and he is given necessary medical help.
The court said available material and statements of
witnesses indicated that Madani was in constant touch with the
other accused before and after the blasts and also harboured
some of them by giving them shelter in his orphanage in
Kerala.
On the contention of senior defence counsel B V
Acharya that there was "no direct evidence" of Madani`s
involvement in the criminal conspiracy, the High Court had
said, "There is seldom ever that direct evidence is there in
such cases. Conspiracy by very nature is hatched in complete
secrecy other wise the whole purpose will be frustrated."
Madani, arrested in Kerala on August 17 last year, is
lodged in Central Jail, Bangalore. He was one of the main
accused in the 1998 Coimbatore serial blasts that killed 58
people but was acquitted.
PTI
