The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed jailed PDP leader Abdul Nazir Maudany to visit his ailing mother in Kerala. The court also said Maudany has to be accompanied by officers of the Karnataka police.
A bench of Justices S A Bobde and Ashok Bhushan directed the Bengaluru court, trying Maudany in the 2008 serial blasts, to consider his plea for exemption from appearance on each date of hearing. “The trial court is directed to assess the (medical) condition of the petitioner and pass an appropriate order if his presence is not necessary,” the bench said.
Senior advocate Raju Ramachandran, appearing for Karnataka, submitted that the issue of appearance before the trial court should be decided by the presiding judge.
He opposed the plea made by advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing Maudany, to allow the petitioner exemption from appearance in the day-to-day hearing.
The apex court also refused to direct the trial court to decide as many as nine cases related to the blasts in a certain time frame, saying such an order would unnecessarily burden the trial judge.
It, however, said the cases should be decided expeditiously. The bench disposed of the petition filed by Maudany after Ramachandran pointed out that the petitioner was already granted conditional bail on July 11, 2014.
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