Prosecution given time to file objections in Madani case

When the petition came up before Single Judge, Justice V Jagannathan, Special Public Prosecutor H S Chandramouli submitted that the petition must be heard by the same judge who heard Madani's anticipatory bail plea in the High Court.

This was termed in "bad taste and against the roster system" by senior defence counsel B V Acharya, who said sufficient time had already been granted to the prosecution since the filing of the bail petition on December 13.

Agreeing with the defence counsel that the bail plea need not be heard by the same judge who heard the anticipatory bail application, the judge, however, granted time till February 8 for the prosecution to file its objections and directed it to furnish a copy of the objections to the defence counsel before the said date.

Madani has sought bail on the grounds that there is no prima facie case against him to implicate him in the blasts in July, 2008 that left one dead and 20 injured.Madani was taken into custody from an orphanage-cum-madrassa in Anwarssery in Kerala on August 17 and subsequently brought to Bangalore.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader is lodged in Bangalore Central jail.A local court committed the case for trial on December three.Madani was also an accused in the 1998 Coimbatore serial blasts in which 58 people were killed. However, he was acquitted by the trial court.