External view of Bombay High Court in Mumbai. | Photo Credit: Hind
The High Court in Bombai awarded the bail of Farooq Shaukat Bagwan, the accused in the case of Pune 2012 and noted that his long -term imprisonment for more than 12 years and slow progress in court proceedings guaranteed relief.
The divisional bench of judges such as Gadkari and Rajesh S. Patil, in the judgment announced on Tuesday (September 9, 2025), said that constitutional right to rapid court proceedings pursuant to Article 21 cannot be endangered.
“The possibility that court proceedings in the near future seem to be distant. Now it is a well -established principle of the law that the right to rapid court proceedings is the fundamental law under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution,” said the bench.
August 1, 2012 occurred on the Pune’s Jungle Mahara road between 19:25 and 23:30, which injured one person, five low -intensity explosions. Another live explosive device was obtained from the bike and later disposed of by detection and disposal of the bombs.
According to a team against terrorism (ATS), the explosions were carried out to avenge the death of Qateel Siddique, the alleged Indian Mujahideen worker who was killed in June 2012 in Yerawad.
Mr. Bagwan, 39, was arrested on December 26, 2012 and has remained in custody since then. He is accused of preparing counterfeit documents to obtain SIM cards, which were allegedly used by other accused in a conspiracy and allow its premises to be used to plan explosions.
The Court noted that, despite the passage of more than decades, the court had only explored 27 out of 170 witnesses cited by the prosecution.
The bench relied on the decision of the Supreme Court in India vs. KA NEJEEB (2021) that legal restrictions under laws, such as the Unlawful Act (Prevention) Act (UAPA), cannot suppress the accused’s constitutional rights if there is a disproportionate delay.
“Although strict provisions reduce the deposit, the strictness of such provisions will be melted where there is no probability that the court proceedings will be completed within a reasonable time and a period of imprisonment has already exceeded a substantial part of the sentence,” said Lavička.
The court also considered parity in the bail and noted that the munib IQBal memoron, co-mounted on the same day as Mr. Bagwan, was awarded a bail in September 2024. Bench found that the alleged role of Mr. Bagwan “similar to Memon.
The court also noted that Mr. Bagwan had no other criminal predecessors and faced any murder accusations under section 302 of the Indian Criminal Code.
The explanation of 1 September 2021 ordered the order of Mcoca special court, which refused Mr. Bagwan’s request, the High Court ordered the release on personal bond 1 Lakh with local warranties.
Mr. Bagwan must be reported by ATS Bombai on the first Saturday of the month between 10:00 and 12:00 until the court has been completed, the command said. He was forbidden to leave Mumbai and Pune without a previous trial, to give up his passport and get not to control or not affect witnesses.
The bench noted that its observation is prima facie, and the court court must decide on its own merit.
Published – 10 September 2025 22:04
