The special NIA court has rejected the bail pleas of four accused arrested in August for their association with the ISIS module busted in Padgha.
The 4 accused
The four accused whose bail pleas were rejected are Aakif Ateeque Nachan, Dr. Adnanali Sarkar, Zulfikar Ali Barodawala, and Sharjeel Shaikh. The defense lawyers sought bail for these four accused on the grounds that the agency failed to submit the chargesheet within the stipulated time period of 90 days.
The agency, however, contended that they had obtained a 90-day extension to file the chargesheet.
Court’s observation
After hearing both sides, the court observed that it had already passed a detailed order extending the period to file the chargesheet. The extension of the period to file the chargesheet means and includes the extension of the detention of the accused.
The court further stated that the accused would become entitled to claim default bail only if the investigating officer fails to file the chargesheet against him within the extended period, which expires on December 28.
Additionally, the court said, “The investigation is still ongoing, and the chargesheet is required to be filed by the concerned investigating officer within the extended period. The right to default bail, although a valuable right, cannot be claimed before the expiry of the statutory or extended period, as the case may be, to file the chargesheet.”
The Case
These accused were arrested after the ATS, Pune, busted an ISIS module and found several incriminating materials, such as electronic gadgets and documents related to ISIS.
