By TwoCircles.net Staff Correspondent,
Kochi: The Kerala High Court today postponed the consideration of Soofiya Madani’s petition for anticipatory bail to 17th December. The court has dismissed the request of Soofiya not to arrest her before the consideration of the petition. Soofiya applied for anticipatory bail when she was named the 10th accused in the Kalamassery bus-burning case. The case was considered in the court by Justice KT Shankaran.
Soofiya Madani is the wife of Abdunnasir Madani, chairman of the People’s Democratic Party. Madani and Soofiya have made it clear that they would abide by law whatever may happen.
Madani had reportedly said that he would take the legal recourse and fully cooperate with the probe. He added that the police could arrest Soofiya if they wanted to for the purpose of investigation. However, the leaders of the PDP have begun an indefinite relay satyagraha at Anvarsseri Yatheemkhana, the orphanage run by Madani at Mainagappalli in Kollam district. Madani and Soofiya are now reportedly at the orphanage. More activists of the PDP are said to be moving to the orphanage to express solidarity with the satygrahis.
The HC order postponing the consideration has come reportedly following the request of Soofiya’s counsel that he needed some more documents to argue the case. The lawyer also reportedly informed the court that Soofiya would report before the investigating officers tomorrow if word was given that she would not be arrested. But the Director General of Prosecutions VG Govindan Nair refused to give such a word. The government did not oppose the request of Soofiya that the case be postponed.
The court had declined Soofiya’s prayer on December 11 that it direct the police not to arrest her till her petition was disposed.
Accosrding to the petitioner, she was questioned by ATS head TK VInod Kumar and no evidence of her connection with the case was found. She was asked to appear before the police officials on December 9 and 10, but she failed to as she was in Calicut where Madani was undergoing medical treatment.
The incident related to the case took place in September 2005 when a Tamil Nadu state bus was burned at Kalamassery near Kochi. The police reportedly accuse that Soofiya plotted and funded the burning of the TN state bus after knowing the plight of Madani in the Coimbatore jail.
Abdunnasir Madani was in jail for long 11 years for his alleged role in the Coimbatore blasts of 1998. He was released in 2007 when found innocent of the charges.
Soofiya had earlier asked why she should do things to anger the TN government at a time when Madany’s bail application was in the TN court. The police reportedly got evidence of her role from Thadiyantavide Naseer, the suspected Lashkar e Toiba chief in South India, when he was questioned by the Kerala and Karnataka police teams.