- A Parbhani man accused of swearing allegiance to the outlawed terrorist group Islamic State and charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act has been granted bail by the Bombay High Court.
- Mohammad Raisuddin was granted bail by a division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and VG Bisht, who noted that different lab results had linked the accused's handwriting to a "oath" document.
- Furthermore, the opinion in favour of the accused was withheld by NIA for more than two years.
- Even if it weren't, the court ruled that the oath designating a former IS leader as the "caliph" of Muslims wasn't initially incriminating.
- The bench ruled that it was only the witnesses' view that the accused were jihadists and fundamentalists since they frequently discussed the beef prohibition, the Dadri event, the Muzaffarpur incident, the Gujarat riots, and Islam.
- A co-accused who had far more damning circumstances was released on bond the previous year, two other defendants admitted guilt, there was a protracted period of confinement, and no prima facie case had been established, among other things that the judge considered.
- Therefore, the bench declared that the UAPA's Section 45(D) bar would not be applicable.
- Raisuddin and three other people were allegedly plotting an attack on the Aurangabad Unit of the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), according to the NIA.
- They were detained in 2016 and charged under multiple conspiracy-related sections of the IPC and the UAPA. The agency also claimed that one of Raisuddin's fellow defendants had contact with Islamic State fighters and another had acquired an IED.
- He is charged with conspiring since a co-accused's house also included an oath of allegiance.
- The Oath, the contents of which are freely accessible online, was initially delivered to the State Examiner of Documents in Aurangabad, but they were unable to locate an expert in Arabic or Urdu to compare it with the accused's handwriting samples.
- Chief Examiner of Documents (CFSL) Hyderabad stated in 2017 that an opinion could not be offered in the absence of an appropriate specimen.
- He claimed that despite the court's repeated requests, the investigating agency misled it and withheld the aforementioned report. Finally, in 2019, the same documents from CFSL Pune were supplied, and within two weeks, they had issued an opinion in favour of NIA.
- The bench further noted that while two other accused had entered guilty pleas, one accused had been granted bail last year after 550 witnesses were mentioned.
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