Malegaon blast case: Court rejects plea seeking cancellation of accused’s bail who had travelled to Nepal

A Mumbai court rejected a plea seeking cancellation of bail granted to an accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case for allegedly violating bail conditions.

A special NIA court in Mumbai has dismissed a plea seeking cancellation of bail of Swami Amrutanand Devte alias Shankaracharya, one of the accused in the 2008 Malegaon blast case.

The application was filed by Nisar Ahmed Bilal, the father of a blast victim, through advocate Shahid Nadeem. The application stated that Shankaracharya had travelled to Nepal without prior permission of the special court which is a violation of the bail condition imposed on him by the court, and had accordingly, thus, sought cancellation of the bail.

The NIA opposed the application saying it is not maintainable because the victim has no locus to file a bail cancellation plea directly. However, at the same time, they urge the court that as the accused has accepted he has visited Nepal, the court may pass an appropriate order.

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The accused Shankaracharya told the court that he had an “ill-conceived notion" as a layman that, since passports are not required to travel to Nepal, so he did not need court permission. He added that he had gone to attend a conference and he “returned to India promptly”. He promised to never travel abroad without taking prior permission of the court.

Special Judge Abhay Lahoti, after detailed hearing of all the three sides, warned Shankaracharya not to breach any of the conditions imposed on him by the court.

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