POTA court rejects Maulana Qavi’s bail in 10 year old Modi's assassination conspiracy case; JUH to appeal in HC
By A. Mirsab, TwoCircles.net,
Mumbai: On Wednesday Special POTA court in Ahmedabad rejected Maulana Abdul Qavi’s bail in a 10 year old conspiracy case registered in Gujarat. The special judge accepted all the defenses of Maulana Abdul Qavi except that he was not absconding since last 10 years and turned down his bail on the ground of him being absconding before arrest. Jamiat Ulema Hind, an NGO providing legal assistance to the Maulana has shown determination to approach Gujarat High Court for the relief.
The prosecution agency claimed to have served notices to Maulana Abdul Qavi and an arrest warrant was issued, but his advocate claimed that no official information was ever received from the Gujarat police in this case by Abdul Qavi.
Maulana Abdul Qavi
Maulana’s Advocate Tehwar Khan Pathan had approached the POTA court with direct bail plea contending that as the charge sheet against Maulana has been filed by the district crime branch there is no further need to keep him behind the bars.
Special Public Prosecutor opposing the bail plea told the court that Maulana Abdul Qavi was absconding for past 11 years.
Additional principal judge Geeta Gopi dismissed the bail plea citing POTA provisions where accused is not eligible for bail for the period of one year since arrest and also stated that ‘past conduct’ of the accused doesn’t make him eligible for the bail.
Advocate Tehwar Khan earlier told TCN that they presented before the judge an authority in case of PUCL vs Union of India where those provisions of POTA were struck down by the Supreme Court. Defense also presented documented evidence to prove that Mualana Qavi was never been absconding, the evidence included the media coverage of a program he addressed in Surat last year.
“Judge appreciated our evidence on record but told that earlier views on rejection of bail still has stand,” Advocate Tehwar said.
Defense claimed that there is no iota of evidence against Maulana, “Prosecution is presenting evidence from 2004, which already stand trailed and witnessed 44 accused getting acquitted. The only evidence which prosecution is presenting against Maulana is a police confessional statement given by one accused in 2004 which he later in 2006 retracted in the court as forced confession.”
Ahmed Saber spokesperson of Jamaitul Ulema Hind told TCN that prosecution is trying to make the absurd allegations of absconding as their base to deny Mualana his right to bail, “We have provided all the travel record of past 11 years of Mualana Qavi in the court which included his programs and address in Gujarat including his recent address in Surat just a year ago.”
Advocate Tehwar Khan said, “We are not hopeless, in the High Court we will present all the evidence on record to prove Maulana was never been absconding, and we are sure to get justice there.”
After the court ruling Maulana Nadeem Siddiqui, President of Jamiat Ulema Maharashtra said, “We will discuss the aspect of challenging the order before Gujarat High Court with Maulana Mahmood Madani and senior advocate panel including Mahmood Paracha and will soon file appeal.”
He also talked with the family of Maulana Abdul Qavi and assured them of providing every legal assistance till his release.
Original Case
DCB I-CR No. 6 of 2003, known as ‘ISI greater conspiracy case’ in which dozens of Muslim youth were arrested under POTA from Hyderabad by Gujarat police on the allegation of conspiring to assassinate then Chief Minister Narendra Modi, then Home Minister L.K. Advani and VHP leader Praveen Togadia.
The case has been dubbed as a proxy of Gujarat police to run their own parallel investigation in Haren Pandya murder case which CBI was handling. Almost everyone who was accused and arrested in this case including renowned cleric Maulana Naseeruddin has been acquitted by the court.
Maulana Abdul Qavi has been made accused no.42 in this case with a specific charge of providing shelter to alleged Narendra Modi assassination conspirators in Hyderabad and also allegedly helped them to escape to Bangladesh.
This case was earlier monitored by then Asst. Commissioner of Police - now snoop gate fame G.L. Singhal and investigated by Narendra Amin - now in jail for Sohrabuddin fake encounter case and also chargesheeetd by CBI in Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case.
Illegal arrest of Maulana Abdul Qavi after 10 years in 2014
Islamic scholar Maulana Abdul Qavi was arrested on 23rd March evening from New Delhi airport in a joint operation by Gujarat ATS and Delhi police special cell. Mulana Abdul Qavi was arrested after his flight landed in Delhi from Hyderabad on 23rd March 2014 night 8:0 p.m. Maulana along with one of his students was travelling to Deoband via Delhi to attend a meeting of JUH seminaries.
Maulana Abdul Qavi till then was not touched by security agencies in this case, however his nephew Mufti Asharf Ali rector of Madrasa Sabeebul Falah was arrested by Gujarat police in 2007 but he too was soon acquitted in the conspiracy case by the session court.
Founder and rector of Madrasa Ashraful Uloom Maulana Abdul Qavi was well known religious figure in Hyderabad, his elder brother Mufti Abdul Mughni is the Hyderabad city president of Jamaitul Ulema Hind.
Related:
Maulana Abdul Qavi presented before POTA court in Gujarat, Advocate calls his arrest political stunt
Gujarat police has no evidence against Maulana Abdul Qavi: Adv.Paracha