Baba Siddique murder: Bombay High Court grants bail to Punjab youth

The Bombay High Court on Monday granted bail to a 22-year-old man accused in the assassination case of former Maharashtra minister Ziauddin Abdul Rahim @ Baba Siddique after finding no prima facie material linking him personally to the alleged Anmol Bishnoi crime syndicate [Akashdeep Karaj Singh v. State of Maharashtra & Ors.].Justice Neela Gokhale passed the order in the bail plea of Akashdeep Karaj Singh who was arrested by Mumbai police and later made an accused in case under Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) linked to the gang leader Anmol Bishnoi and his associates.“Undoubtedly, the acts committed by the Organised Crime Syndicate, alleged to be headed by the Bishnoi brothers, are serious offences. The provisions of MCOCA are rightly invoked,” the Court held. .However, after examining the material against the accused, Justice Gokhale found no grounds to believe that the offences were prima facie true. “I am unable to form an opinion that there are reasonable grounds, at this stage, for believing that the accusations against Singh of commission of the offence under the MCOCA are prima facie true,” the Court held. .The prosecution argued that Singh was an active member of the syndicate. This allegation was based primarily on alleged calls made to the co-accused Sujit Singh, some unspecified international calls, a photograph of him holding a gun, and an alleged cash deposit in Punjab that was later received in a bank account in Mumbai.Justice Gokhale found this insufficient to attract the stringent bail bar under Section 21(4) MCOCA. “Merely putting through a call to the co-accused prima facie does not connect Singh with the organised crime syndicate, unless it is demonstrated that Singh had knowledge of the co-accused being engaged in assisting in any manner, an organised crime syndicate. This fact can be established only during the trial,” the Court held..The Court also found no efforts by the prosecution to identify receivers of the international calls. “A bare allegation unsupported by any material that the Applicant made international calls to supporters of the Organised Crime Syndicate in Canada, does not indicate his complicity in the offence,” the judge observed. .The Court took into account Singh’s age, lack of criminal antecedents and the limited nature of the alleged link (a phone call) to grant him bail subject to stringent conditions. The conditions include payment of ₹1 lakh with local sureties, reporting to the prosecuting officials every alternate Monday and a bar on leaving Maharashtra without court's permission..Advocates Abhishek Yende, Surbhi Agrawal, Shubham Kahite and Sagar Paspohe appeared for Singh. Special public prosecutor Mahesh Mule with prosecutors Parth Gawde and Megha S Bajoria appeared for State. Advocates Pradip Gharat, Trivankumar Karnani, Hritika Jannawar and Sumit Jadhav appeared for complainant. [Read Order] .Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.