Supreme Court calls Bengaluru blast case accused a 'dangerous man'

The Supreme Court on Monday called Kerala's People Democratic Party leader Abdul Nazir Maudany, facing trial in the 2008 Bengaluru blasts case, as a "dangerous man" as he sought modification of his bail conditions to allow him to visit and stay in his home state.

A bench presided over by Chief Justice S A Bobde posted the matter for consideration next week to ascertain if Justice V Ramasubramanian, a part of the bench, had earlier appeared for the petitioner.

As soon as senior advocate Jayant Bhushan sought to argue the matter, CJI observed, "You are a dangerous man. Bail was granted by the bench to which I was a part."

Justice Ramasubramanian, however, said he might have represented the petitioner earlier as a lawyer.

The counsel sought time to confirm it, promoting the court to adjourn the matter for consideration next week. The bench also comprised Justice A S Bopanna.

In an application, 56-year-old Maudany through advocates Haris Beeran and R S Jena stated that on account of recent developments of the cases being dragged due to various reasons, including Covid-19 pandemic, it was just and necessary to relax the bail conditions.

While granting bail to him on July 11, 2014, the top court directed him not to leave the city of Bengaluru.

He said the progress of the case was crawling at snail's pace due to various reasons, including recall of witnesses and transfer of prosecutor and trial judges thrice and now on account of Covid-19. For the last one year, recording of the statement of accused was underway. At present, his presence in the trial was not required.

He also claimed there was no presiding officer at the trial court at present. He had already spent 11 years since arrest and seven years since bail in Bengaluru.

Among other reasons, the applicant contended he was not able to avail Ayurveda treatment for his ill-health. For his various ailments, he was also not able to get proper treatment due to high number of Covid-19 cases in the city. His father was also critical after having suffered a stroke.

He also submitted that being in the city caused him excessive financial burden due to high rent. Further, he said the top court had earlier three times relaxed the bail conditions to permit him to visit Kerala.