Observing that the trial is ongoing and no basis has been provided for granting bail, a special court on Thursday rejected the bail application of two accused booked in the 1993 Bombay blasts case.
The court rejected Manaf Hakkari and Muhammad Shoaib Qureshi’s bail requests. The third phase of the trial of seven defendants is currently underway.
“16 witnesses have already been examined and 25 to 30 witnesses are still under investigation. The applicant has not shown any change in circumstances since the rejection of his previous bail application. Therefore, considering the gravity and seriousness of the offence, the role attributed to the applicant and the fact that he has been on the run for the last 27 to 28 years, there is no reason to grant him bail,” Special Judge V D Kedar said in the order, denying bail to Hillary. The court against Qureshi also said that he had been on the run for nearly 28 years and was facing a separate trial in Gujarat.
The case relates to the 12 bomb blasts that took place in Mumbai on March 12, 1993, killing 257 people and wounding 713 others. Two sets of defendants faced separate trials earlier. Since the seven were subsequently arrested, they are currently facing a separate trial.
In her petition, which was filed through lawyers Ayush Paspolla and Rohin Chauhan, Halari had stated that his previous bail application had been rejected in 2021, and he had withdrawn his appeal before the Supreme Court in 2024, with him being given freedom to file a new petition after six months before the court of first instance. They argued that the first witness was examined on October 7, 2024, and a year later only 13 witnesses were examined, pointing out that the trial may not end in the near future so the bail application could be considered on the basis of delay.
(tags for translation) Sadaf Modak
