The Supreme Court has granted bail to a person accused under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) who has spent over six years in jail.
A Bench led by Justice Rohinton Nariman, in an order on Wednesday, disagreed with the Rajasthan High Court’s refusal to grant bail to the accused.
In a short order, the Bench said the High Court’s view that a prima facie case had been made out against the accused solely based on the statement given by the public prosecutor was not “strictly correct”.
Accused Aadil Ansari is booked under Section 43D(5) of the UAPA for allegedly indulging in terror activities. It is practically impossible to get bail under this provision. It allows a court to reject bail even if police documents or the prosecutor suggests the allegations are “prima facie true”.
But the court found that Ansari's name is not mentioned in the FIR. It said it had also gone through the charge sheet filed in September 2014. It also noted that Ansari was denied bail in October 2014.
“We are satisfied that the High Court judgment stating that a prima facie case has been made out against the petitioner based on the public prosecutor’s statement cannot be said to be strictly correct”, the Supreme Court concluded.
It ordered Ansari’s release on bail without making any remarks about the case. The court said it did not want to prejudice the trial.
“Having perused these documents, without saying anything more, so as not to prejudice the trial, we set aside the judgment of the High Court and enlarge the petitioner on bail, subject to the usual conditions to be imposed by the trial court”, the order read.