SC bench split over bail to Madani, refers plea to CJI

SC bench split over bail to Madani, refers plea to CJI

A Supreme Court bench on Wednesday referred to Chief Justice of India S H Kapadia the bail plea of 2008 Bangalore blast accused Abdul Naseer Madani following differences between two judges on grant of bail to him.

The bench of justices Markandey Katju and Gyan Sudha Misra said it was referring the matter to the Chief Justice of India for constituting another bench in view of differences between judges on the issue.

While Justice Katju appears to be in favour of granting bail to Madani, Justice Misra was strongly opposed to it in view of the serious allegations against the accused that impinges upon national security.

Madani is presently lodged in a Karnataka jail under judicial custody for his alleged involvement in the Bangalore serial bomb blast and similar incidents in Ahmedabad, Surat and Jaipur.

He was recently acquitted in the Coimbatore serial blast case, in which several persons had died.

Madani's plea was heard for over one-and-a-half hour with the Karnataka government pleading that his release on bail could pose a serious threat to national security as he was part of the 'jihadi' element having connections with banned outfits like Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and SIMI.

Madani had moved to the apex court for bail after the Karnataka High Court had rejected his plea on 11^th February, saying that the grant of bail to him would put the security of the state and the nation in jeopardy.

The high court, however, had directed jail authorities to take steps to ensure that Madani, suffering from different ailments, is given proper treatment and his health does not deteriorate.

The high court had noted that available material and statements of witnesses indicated that Madani was in constant touch with the other accused before and after the blasts and also harbored some of them by giving them shelter in his orphanage in Kerala.