Bombay High Court upholds bail granted to person accused of joining ISIS [Read order]

The Bombay High Court has upheld the bail granted to Areeb Majeed, who is accused of joining global terror outfit ISIS..While doing so, the Court set aside on merits the findings of the Special Court in Mumbai hearing cases being investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA)..The Bench of Justices SS Shinde and Manish Pitale passed the verdict in an appeal by the NIA against the Special Court’s order which granted bail to Majeed on merits..The Court opined the observations of the Special Court that no prima facie case is made out by the NIA in light of witnesses examined is based on flawed logic."It is strange that the NIA Court had held that “at this stage” the prosecution had not succeeded to prove prima facie case on the basis of examination of 49 witnesses and that the prosecution had failed to give a specific direction." the order states..The Court noted that the accusations against Majeed had been rendered twice over against Majeed when the earlier bail applications were rejected on merits, which was not considered in the impugned order..Having held so, the Court proceeded to add that considering Majeed was facing trial for serious and heinous offences, the Court was required to "perform a balancing act, so as to ensure that a golden mean is reached between the rights of the individual and those of the society at large.".The Court considered the fact that Majeed had been detained for more than 6 years. It also noted that examining 51 witnesses took 5 years and there were 107 more witnesses to be examined which would most likely not conclude within 6 months. .Taking this into account, the Court deduced that there is every likelihood of the trial continuing for the next few years and for this reason, the Court held that bail can be granted to Majeed subject to stringent conditions.."If ultimately, the accused are found to be not guilty, the number of years, months and days spent by such accused as undertrials in jail, can never be given back to them and this is certainly a violation of their valuable right under Article 21 of the Constitution of India." the Court observed..Majeed will be released on bail upon furnishing a bail bond of Rs. 1 lakh. He has been directed to stay with his family at Kalyan, Thane and submit a list of 3 blood relatives having permanent abode in Kalyan or Mumbai suburbs. .Majeed has to report once a week to the in-charge NIA officer and produce the proof before the relevant court on relevant dates. .He has also been directed to report to the Kalyan police station twice in a day for first two month, then once a day for two months, thereafter thrice a week for the next two months, and ultimately twice a week till pendency of the trial. .He has also been restrained from making any statements pertaining to the pending proceedings to any form of media including the print and electronic media and social media. .Soon after the order was passed, Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh requested for a stay on the order. However, the Court refused to grant the request considering the stringent conditions that had been imposed upon him..Majeed, who travelled to Syria to allegedly join ISIS, was arrested in November 2014 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) after he returned from Syria..He was charged with the commission of offences under Section 125 (waging war against government) of the Indian Penal Code as well as Section 16 (punishment for terrorist act) and Section 18 (punishment for conspiracy) of the UAPA..ASG Singh argued before the Court that NIA had found enough evidence against Majeed which was present in the chargesheet and the supplementary chargesheets..Singh argued that Majeed, being a hardcore follower of ISIS, travelled back to India with an ulterior motive to carry out unlawful activities..He claimed that participation in terrorist activities was serious and that there was material available in support of his activities..Majeed, arguing in-person, contended that the trial was being conducted for offences which were neither within Indian borders nor against India. He claimed that the evidence collected by NIA could not prima facie prove the offences charged by them..He further submitted that the offences for which he has been charged with entail punishment of only upto five years' imprisonment since he has not caused any injury or killed anyone. The chargesheet itself discloses these facts, he contended.He highlighted that he has already spent more than six years in jail as an undertrial and that in itself is a ground for grant of bail. In this regard, he placed reliance upon the recent judgment of the Supreme Court in the Union of India v. KA Najeeb..It was also his argument that he had gone abroad to help people there and not for any terrorist activities..The Court at this point questioned why a 21-year-old boy would think of going to Iraq leaving his parents and family in grief. It also remarked that if Majeed would have utilised his abilities to the best at the age of 21, it would have been a matter of joy for the family and for the country..[Read judgment here]