Outraged, SC grants future bail for terror accused
Outraged at the slow pace of legal proceedings against alleged terrorist Gulzar Ahmed Wani, the Supreme Court stated that if the prosecution does not complete formalities by October 31, Wani would be released on bail on November 1. Wani was acquitted in 10 out of 11 cases registered against him. However, he is still on trial for the 11th case.
Wani's case: Background
Gulzar Ahmed Wani is a native of Srinagar, pursuing his PhD in Arabic at Aligarh Muslim University. He was arrested by police in 2001 over several terror charges and had 11 terror cases slapped against him. Over the last 16-years, all his co-accused have secured bail and he was acquitted in 10 out of 11 cases. However, the 11th case is still in hearing.
What were Wani's alleged crimes?
Wani had several terror cases lodged against him. These included carrying explosives for attacks in Delhi, orchestrating the Agra blasts in 2000 and facilitating the Sabarmati Express blast in 2000. However in the last 16 years, the prosecution has failed to find any evidence.
The Sabarmati case
In 2001, Wani was made co-accused in a series of blasts that rocked UP on the eve of Independence Day 2000. The court granted all other co-accused bail in the case. In September'16, the SC had asked the trial court to complete investigations in 6 months. However the court only examined 29 of the 96 witnesses in the case, leaving Wani in continued incarceration.
SC lambasts trial court proceedings
Reacting to the case, the SC said, "No credible evidence has been found against him by the trial court in all these cases. If the prosecution does not complete examination of witnesses by October 31, Wani will be released on bail on November 1, 2017."
