Jaipur: The Supreme Court on Friday denied bail to Salman, an accused in the Jaipur serial bomb blast. Salman has been accused of bombing outside Chandpol Hanuman Temple at Sanganeri Gate in Jaipur in May 2008.
The apex court has asked the special court hearing Jaipur bomb blast cases to complete the trial of the case by May 15. The court said that if the trial is not completed within the stipulated time period, then the bail plea of the accused will be reconsidered. The order was issued by a bench of Justices MM Sundaresh and SVN Bhatti.
Earlier, the special court hearing Jaipur bomb blast cases had sentenced Salman to death but the Rajasthan High Court had acquitted him. The high court's decision was challenged by the state government and the bomb blast victims in the Supreme Court through a Special Leave Petition (SLP).
On behalf of the accused, it was stated that the Rajasthan High Court had acquitted him in the Jaipur serial bomb blast case and since the trial will take some time to conclude, he should be granted bail.
In response, Attorney General of India R Venkataramani and Special Advocate Shivmangal Sharma said that accused Salman was a member of the banned terror organisation, Indian Mujahideen, and was considered involved in the serial bomb blasts in Jaipur, Delhi and Ahmedabad.
It was also said that granting bail to the accused will send a wrong message to the society and there is also a possibility that he may get involved in terrorist activities again. Therefore, the accused should not be granted bail, the lawyers stated.
After hearing the arguments of both the parties, the court refused relief to the accused and asked him to reconsider his bail plea if the trial is not completed on time. On May 13, 2008, there were eight serial bomb blasts in the city, while a live bomb was found at one place. Seventy one people were killed in the blasts.
The high court has acquitted all the accused in the bomb blast case, while the hearing related to recovery of live bomb is still pending in the special court.
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