2011 Mumbai triple blasts case accused, 65, gets bail; HC cites prolonged trial, his age

Mumbai, Nov 4 (PTI) The Bombay High Court on Tuesday granted bail to a 65-year-old man arrested in connection with the July 2011 triple bomb blasts in the metropolis, taking note of the prolonged trial, the accused's old age and his ailments.

A bench of Justices A S Gadkari and R R Bhonsale granted bail to Kafeel Ahmed Mohammed Ayub, noting that the possibility of the trial in the 14-year-old case getting over in the near future was bleak.

"After framing of charges on March 5, 2021, in last more than 4.5 years the prosecution has examined only 167 witnesses," the HC observed.

The prosecution was yet to examine 233 witnesses, it added.

"According to us, the possibility of concluding the trial of the present case in the near future is bleak. The appellant (Ayub) is aged 65 years as of today and is suffering from age-related ailments," the bench said.

The high court granted him bail on a surety of Rs 1 lakh.

The blasts killed 27 persons and left more than 120 injured.

Ayub, a resident of Bihar, is currently lodged at the Mumbai Central prison. He was arrested in February 2012 and has been in custody since then.

On July 13, 2011, Mumbai was rocked by three blasts -- at Zaveri Bazaar, Opera House and near a school in Dadar Kabutarkhana close to the railway station -- within 10 minutes of each other.

The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), which probed the case, alleged terror outfit Indian Mujahideen had orchestrated the blasts, and its founder, Yasin Bhatkal, was the main conspirator.

Ayub had moved the high court challenging a special court's 2022 order refusing him bail.

According to the prosecuting agency, Ayub and the other accused in the case had indoctrinated Muslim youths to carry out terror acts at the behest of the Indian Mujahideen.

Ayub was in close contact with Bhatkal, the probe agency claimed.

While seeking relief, Ayub's advocate, Mubin Solkar, argued he has been languishing in jail for over a decade, with the trial still on.

The elderly man has claimed he was innocent and had been falsely implicated in the case.

Ayub has stated that the prosecution has no evidence against him except his own confession, which he claimed was not given voluntarily. PTI SP ARU RSY