Bombay High Court grants bail to man accused of being ISIS member

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Friday granted bail to a 28-year-old man, arrested for allegedly being a member of the banned terror outfit - Islamic State (ISIS).

A division bench of Justices S S Shinde and N J Jamadar allowed the petition filed by Iqbal Ahmed Kabir Ahmed challenging an order of a special court refusing bail to him.

"The order passed by the special court is quashed. The appellant (Ahmed) shall be released on bail upon furnishing a bond of Rs one lakh and one or two solvent sureties of the same amount," the bench said.

The court directed Ahmed to appear before the National Investigation Agency (NIA) twice a week for the first month and then once a week for the next two months.

"The appellant shall attend each and every date of the trial and shall not hamper or get in touch with the witnesses in the case," the bench said.

Ahmed was arrested on August 7, 2016 and booked under the stringent provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for being part of a terror outfit and under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The prosecution's case was that Ahmed was part of the ISIS's 'Parbhani module', who were purportedly planning to carry out a terror attack on the office of the Superintendent of Police in Parbhani.

Ahmed's advocate Mihir Desai had argued that there was no evidence against the petitioner and that the trial in the case is yet to commence and there are over 150 witnesses to be examined.