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The Gujarat High Court has denied bail applications for three men accused of attempting to escape from prison by digging a 213-foot tunnel in Sabarmati Central Jail in 2013.
The court noted that their release would send a “wrong signal to (society)”. The three were accused of serial bombings in 2008 in Ahmedabad and were acquitted of all charges in February last year. Currently, they are facing charges of an alleged jailbreak attempt. The HC’s order was made available on Monday.
While denying the petition on Friday, the Supreme Court nevertheless directed the Sessions Court to “expedite and complete the trial as soon as possible.” The Supreme Court affirmed that “if the Court requests and considers it appropriate to conduct the trial on a daily basis, in that case the Sessions Court may conduct the trial daily to complete it as soon as possible.” No timetable for completion of the trial has been set by the High Commissioner.
The three accused – Raziuddin Nasr, aka Abdul Rahman aka Muhammad Ghose aka Abu Hajar, aka Abdul Razzaq, Naseermad Liaktali Muhammad Ghose Patel, and Nadeem Abdul Naeem Syed – have been languishing in prison for more than 10 years now.
While the bail application was denied by Judge Nirzar Desai, he noted that the three had “actively participated” in the plot to dig the tunnel inside the prison barracks, in an attempt to escape from the prison. “This Court, prima facie, considers that this was a very serious crime and was a very well planned plot that could not have been carried out in the way it was planned,” the High Commissioner stated.
Since the objective of digging the tunnel was to escape, the court also took into account the state’s fears that they might escape if they were granted bail.
“Further consideration of the nature of the offence, if at this juncture, when the present applicants are charged under Section 130 of the Indian Penal Code which prescribes a life sentence, if bail is extended it will send a wrong signal to the community and will also encourage others to spawn like This kind of conspiracy and making attempts to escape from prison which may ultimately affect the law, public order and situation, therefore, I see no reason for the current applicants to extend bail,” Read Justice Desai’s application records were announced on Monday.
A total of 24 prisoners were indicted by the Ahmedabad Crime Branch after an FIR was filed at Ranib Police Station in the name of 14 accused.
Among the charges against the 24 defendants is the crime under Section 130 of the Iraqi Penal Code, which can result in a maximum penalty of up to life imprisonment. Section 130 of the Iraqi Penal Code relates to the crime of aiding the escape, rescue, or harboring of a prisoner of state or prisoner of war from lawful custody.
While asking for bail in court, the defendants said they had been served more than 10 years in prison as trial prisoners (UTPs). They said records of the trial proceedings had not yet been submitted to the Sessions Court from the Magistrates’ Court and the trial was likely to take a long time.
The defendants also said that they had no criminal record and were only accused in the 2008 Ahmedabad serial bombings but it was announced that they were acquitted of all charges in February 2022.
The prosecution opposed the bail request, holding that the accused who was instrumental in carrying out the chain bombings had attempted a prison escape with the active participation of the three men, the prosecution feared that securing the attendance of the three would be difficult. If they are released on bail because they are from other countries. The prosecution also indicated the seriousness of the crime.
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