The Delhi High Court on Tuesday denied bail to the alleged Indian Mujahideen operative Mansoor Asghar Peerbhoy in the 2008 Delhi serial blasts case. .A Division Bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Madhu Jain said that Peerbhoy is stated to be the head of the media cell of the Indian Mujahideen and, according to prosecutors, was centrally involved in the transmission of an email titled 'Message of Death' just minutes before the blast, claiming responsibility for the attack. "Such a level of coordination, planning and logistics was possible only through the deployment of skilled technology, and the appellant [Peerbhoy] was, prima facie, at the centre of it," the Court observed. It added that the offence alleged is of a grave nature and the serial blasts in the national capital led to the death of 26 people and injuries to over 100. While Peerbhoy's counsel had argued that he had been in jail for 17 years as an undertrial prisoner, the Court relied on Supreme Court judgements to rule that national security takes precedence over personal liberty in such cases."For such brazen and blatant of acts of terrorism, for which the Appellant has been charged, the allegations against the Appellant pertain to offences of the gravest nature, for which the law prescribes severe punishments, extending even to the death penalty in appropriate cases. Bearing in mind the gravity of the offences involved, which are serial bomb blasts, the qualifications of the Appellant, the role of the Appellant as a media cell head of the ‘Indian Mujahideen’, and the actual death toll that occurred, the long period of incarceration, in the opinion of the Court, would not by itself be sufficient to grant bail to the Appellant,” the Court said.Therefore, it rejected his appeal against a trial court order of July 19, 2025, denying him bail. .Peerbhoy, a software engineer, was named by investigators as a key member of the banned Indian Mujahideen in the investigation into the September 13, 2008, Delhi serial blasts. According to the Delhi Police chargesheet, Peerbhoy's primary role was not in planting the bombs but in providing technological support to the conspiracy. Investigators alleged that minutes before the explosions, Peerbhoy drafted and sent emails to media organisations claiming responsibility for the blasts. This was done exploiting unsecured Wi-Fi networks to conceal the senders' identities. Police also accused him of helping create and manage the group's online propaganda and communication infrastructure. Notably, he was arrested by the Mumbai Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in October 2008. He was later taken into custody by the Delhi Police Special Cell. He was subsequently chargesheeted under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the Explosive Substances Act and the Information Technology Act. .Advocates Mehmood Pracha, Sanawar, Jatin Bhatt, Kshtij Singh and Sikander Raza appeared for Mansoor Asghar Peerbhoy. Delhi Police was represented through Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) Ritesh Kumar Bahri as well as advocates Divya Yadav and Lalit Luthra. .[Read Judgement]
