Wednesday, Apr 24, 2024 | Last Update : 10:30 PM IST
Separatist Massarat Aalam gets bail, court slams delay
Hardline separatist leader Massarat Aalam has been granted bail by a Budgam court which came down heavily on the authorities for his continuous detention, saying situations of extra-judicial detention
Hardline separatist leader Massarat Aalam has been granted bail by a Budgam court which came down heavily on the authorities for his continuous detention, saying situations of extra-judicial detentions like Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo cannot be tolerated.
Chief judicial magistrate of Budgam Masarat Roohi said if Aalam is “anti-national and detrimental to the society and public at large, let the state discharge its duty in bringing the guilty to book so that (he is) punished suitably as per the mandate of law.”
While granting bail, the CJM said in an order on Wednesday that despite the fact that the state alleges the accused to be anti-national, the right of the accused, as guaranteed by the Constitution, principles of natural justice cannot be denied to the accused indefinitely.
An FIR under various sections of Ranbir Penal Code (RPC) including sedition was registered against Aalam last year in April when Pakistani flags were waved at a rally organised to welcome separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani from Delhi.
“So long as this part of the country is part of Indian Union, on which this court has no doubt, situations like Abu Ghraib (of Iraq) and Guantanamo cannot be tolerated, at least in cases which are raised in the courts against Indian citizens,” the CJM said.
According to police, 27 cases have been registered against the leader since 1995. However, investigation has been completed in only 12 cases despite claims by the police that zonal investigation teams have been constituted to speed up the probe.
“In toto, 27 cases have been registered and if 90 days are given in each case, the aggregate period of detention of every FIR is to be construed as separate FIR with a maximum limit of 90 days detention in each FIR, it would amount to 6 years and 7 months before the accused sees the light of the day from the dungeons,” the court observed.
“One wonders how much investigation and what all investigation is going on in all these 15 cases by unknown Special Investigation Team, though the maximum time period provided under law is 90 days before charge sheet could be filed (sic),” the judge said.
