NIA decided not to challenge Swami Aseemanand’s bail

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has decided not to challenge in Supreme Court the conditional bail granted to Swami Aseemanand, accused in the Samjhauta Express blast case, as it did not find any grounds for the same, Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday.

Minister of State for Home, Haribhai Parathibhai Chaudhary, told the House that the Punjab and Haryana High Court had granted conditional bail to Naba Kumar Sarkar alias Swami Aseemanand on August 28, 2014, in the Samjhauta Express blast case.

However, the certified copy of the said order was issued by the court only on May 1, 2015.

“The NIA examined the feasibility of filing a Special Leave Petition and decided that there were no grounds to challenge the order in Supreme Court,” he said in his reply to a written question.

However, Swami Aseemanand continues to remain in jail since he did not comply with the conditions of bail specified in the August 28, 2014, order.

Blasts in two coaches of the Samjhauta Express on February 18, 2007, had claimed the lives of 68 people.

Chaudhary also told Lok Sabha that the government did not find it fit to challenge the March 21, 2014, order granting bail to the two accused in the Mecca Masjid blast case of May, 2007 — Devender Gupta and Lokesh Sharma — on grounds of parity since on June 3, 2012, and June 27, 2013, respectively, bail was granted to Bharat Mohan Lal alias Bharat Bhai and Tejaram Parmar which was not challenged by the prosecution.

However, both the accused continue to be in jail as they are also accused in other cases wherein they have been denied bail, he said.
PTI