The Allahabad High Court has granted conditional bail to four individuals who were sentenced to life imprisonment in relation to the 2005 terrorist attack at the Ram Janmabhoomi site in Ayodhya. The court’s decision comes after the accused have spent 18 years in incarceration.
The division bench, comprising Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Syed Aftab Husain Rizvi, approved the bail applications of Shakeel Ahmed, Mohammad Naseem, Asif Iqbal alias Farooq, and Irfan. Their appeals challenging the life term will be presented for hearing on December 4, 2023.
Recounting the events of July 2005, a jeep stopped near a Jain Temple in Ayodhya, following which an explosion occurred within the vehicle. Subsequently, five heavily armed terrorists launched an attack on the ‘Ram Janmabhoomi Sthal’. The security forces retaliated, and after nearly two hours of gunfire, all five terrorists were neutralized. A civilian, Ramesh Kumar Pandey, also tragically lost his life in the blast.
The court, while granting bail, imposed specific conditions on the accused. They are mandated to report to their respective police stations weekly, surrender their passports, refrain from leaving the country, and pay the stipulated fine within six weeks.
The court’s decision was influenced by the prolonged period of incarceration the accused have undergone, emphasizing the importance of individual liberty. The bench remarked,
“We have perused the records and we find that this is a case of terrorist attack at a significant religious place, wherein five terrorists have been shot dead. The incident is grave and serious and has to be treated as an attack on civilized society…all four accused appellants have been implicated in the offence as conspirators.”
The prosecution’s case primarily hinges on the recovery of a mobile handset from one of the deceased terrorists. This handset, allegedly used with various SIM cards, connected all four accused to the crime through call detail records. The court noted,
“The prosecution case is that the mobile handset recovered from the spot was used in various SIM card numbers and through a process of call detail records, all the four accused persons have been connected to the recovered mobile handset and thereby implicated in the matter.”
The court further stated,
“We are also mindful of the fact that a long period of incarceration during the pendency of appeal has been viewed with concern by the Supreme Court in a series of orders/judgments. Liberty of the individuals would have to be respected while balancing the competing interests of the State to maintain order in the society.”
The order, dated September 19, underscores the significance of individual rights and the need for a fair and timely judicial process.
