The Supreme Court on Friday declined to entertain a plea by the National Investigation Agency against a Bombay High Court's order upholding a grant of bail to the alleged member of UN-banned terrorist organisation Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) Areeb Ejaz Majeed on February 23 this year.
A bench of Justices S Abdul Nazeer and A S Bopanna dismissed the special leave petition by the central agency after noting that the accused had already remained in prison for more than six years and the trial court has put stringent conditions for his bail.
Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, appearing for the NIA, contended that Majeed was a terrorist who went to Syria and came back to the country to carry out blasts at police headquarters.
This was a case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). His decent behaviour can't be a ground for bail by the trial court, he contended.
The top court, however, said it found no ground to interfere with the High Court's order which upheld the trial court's decision to release him on bail on March 17, 2020.
Advocate Farrukh Rasheed appeared for Majeed on caveat.
Majeed was arrested on November 29, 2014, by the Mumbai ATS which handed him over to the NIA.
According to the NIA, he initially went to Iraq in May 2014 on a pilgrimage visa but left for Syria to join ISIL. He was imparted training in handling of weapons and firearms and was actively involved in terrorist acts in Iraq and Syria.
The agency claimed the accused was trying to recruit Indians as well as non-residents to join the terrorist organisation for carrying out activities not only in Iraq and Syria but in India as well.
It further alleged that the accused had come back to India with some ulterior motive to carry out 'lone wolf attack' kind operation. The agency relied upon alleged social media posts of co-accused to claim Majeed had returned to India for terrorist activities.
(Published 27 August 2021, 12:18 IST)
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