By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,
Mumbai: In a significant development in the Aurangabad arms haul case, the Special MCOC court has rejected Maharasthra Anti-Terrorist Squad’s (ATS) application to stay operation of its order granting bail to two accused – Muhammad Zubair, 32, and Afzal Khan, 35, in the Aurangabad arms haul case of 2006.
Special Judge G T Qadri, who had granted bail to the duo last week, was hearing the application on Tuesday filed by ATS praying for the stay on its order of grant of bail for next four week so that it may appeal against the order before Bombay High Court.
According to the ATS, Zubair and Khan were the member of the group that was behind transporting the arms in Aurangabad city of Maharashtra in May 2006 and Zubair was even caught on the spot sitting in the vehicle during interception of the consignment of arms and explosives by the state ATS.
The Maharashtra ATS had allegedly chased this explosive laden vehicle and arrested three persons in Aurangabad on May 9, 2006. Eighteen more people were arrested later in the case. A huge cache of arms and ammunition had been seized from the vehicle and the case came to be known as the Aurangabad arms haul case.
Appearing for state, public prosecutor Abhijit Mantri on Tuesday argued before the court highlighting seriousness of the case and requested for four weeks stay on the order so that ATS may have some time in preparing appeal.
Advocate Sharif Shaikh, appearing for the accused, argued before the court that ATS has no ground to stay bail order and it is only a means through which it wants to procrastinate accused persons’ release.
“If it wants to appeal before HC, then it should directly go there, we shall oppose there but there is no legal backing in its application before this court. Their application should be rejected,” Shaikh contended before the court.
After listening to both, the court asked Mantri to point any section from law on the basis of which the bail order can be stayed.
When Mantri failed to bring any such law point, the court rejected ATS’ application. The court will now continue to hear other bail application and run regular trial proceedings in the case.
Related:
Two more accused secure bail in nine-year-old Aurangabad arms haul case