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Four persons were arrested by the local police when they were en route to Hathras in 2020 after the gang rape case. Allegedly, with the aid of now banned outfit PFI, the accused persons intended to incite riots
The Allahabad High Court has granted bail to Masood, an accused along with Siddique Kappan and others in the Hathras conspiracy case.
The division bench of Justices Attau Rahman Masoodi and Ajai Kumar Srivastava allowed the appeal under Section 21(4) of the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008 filed by Masood challenging the order passed by Special Judge, NIA/ATS, Lucknow on December 6, 2022.
Masood is facing prosecution under Sections 153-A, 295-A, 124-A, 120B of the I.P.C., Sections 17 and 18 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 and Sections 65 and 72 of the I.T. Act, 2000. The FIR in the case was lodged against four persons including Masood.
Before the high court, Masood's counsel contended that in the FIR, there was no allegation against Masood that he was associated with any terrorist organization or was soliciting any donation or funding or had any linkage with either P.F.I. or C.F.I. He further submitted that no incriminating article was recovered from Masood's possession at the time of the arrest.
He asserted that even though there is no prima facie case against Masood and no active role has been attributed to him by the investigating agency, he is languishing in jail since October 5, 2020.
Apart from that, the counsel for Masood stressed that the main accused in the case, Siddique Kappan, has been granted bail by the top court and other co-accused persons named in the F.I.R., Atikur Rahman, K.A. Rauf Sherif and Mohd. Danish @ Tunnu have also been granted bail by co-ordinate bench of the high court. Therefore, Masood's counsel prayed for the appeal to be allowed.
On the other hand, the Additional Government Advocate opposed the appeal contending that the special court had rejected Masood's bail plea with valid reasons. He submitted that Masood was associated with the PFI organization which was involved in terrorist activities. Moreover, he apprised the court that Masood had criminal history of two more cases.
The high court noted that in the case, role assigned to Masood was similar to the role of co-accused, Atikur Rahman, who has been granted bail by the court. Court further pointed out that the charge sheet in the case has already been filed.
Importatnly, court noted that while granting bail to Kappan, the top court had considered the length of custody undergone by him and this ground was also available to Masood.
Therefore, court opined that in dismissing Masood's bail plea, the special court failed to appreciate the material available on record.
Accordingly, the high court set aside the order passed by the special court and ordered Masood to be released on bail. Court allowed him the relief with the condition that he will ensure that he has an active phone number which will be given to the investigating officer/SHO and he shall inform the investigating officer if he changes his usual place of residence.
Case Title: Masood v. The State Of U.P. Thru. Prin. Secy. Home, Lko. And Another
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