New Delhi, Jul 16 (UNI) The Supreme Court today issued notice on a Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by Allahrakha Abu Bakar Mansoori, who has been in custody for over seven years under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), challenging the Bombay High Court’s March 2025 judgment rejecting his appeal for regular bail.
A bench, comprising Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi, noted the prolonged incarceration of the petitioner and sought responses from the State and the investigating agency.
Senior Advocate Gaurav Agarwal, along with Advocate-on-Record Chand Qureshi, appeared for Mansoori, who was arrested on May 16, 2018.
He is accused of aiding an alleged Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative in a conspiracy to carry out terror attacks in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. He faces charges under Sections 16, 18 and 20 of the UAPA, as well as Sections 420, 465, 468, 471, 201 and 120B of the Indian Penal Code.
According to the prosecution, co-accused Mirza Faisal Hasan Mirza, who has already been granted bail by the Bombay High Court on August 27, 2024, allegedly told investigators that he was trained in Pakistan and had been instructed by his cousin Farooque to contact Mansoori for transporting arms from Surat to Mumbai.
The petitioner, however, denies any involvement in terror-related activities, contending that there is no independent evidence to corroborate the prosecution’s version.
The plea states that Mansoori was neither named in the FIR (first information report) nor in any complaint, and even in police statements, co-accused Faisal did not name him.
The SLP argues that the High Court rejected the bail plea solely because an earlier application had been dismissed on merits in 2020 by another division bench, a decision later upheld by the Supreme Court.
The petitioner contends that the High Court failed to consider subsequent developments, particularly the bail granted to a co-accused on parity grounds and his prolonged pre-trial detention.
In its March order, the High Court had observed, “Though Mr. Shaikh [counsel for Mansoori] tried to reopen the argument on merits by submitting that this material was not incriminating, it is not permissible for us to go beyond the observations made by the earlier Division Bench… confirmed by the Supreme Court.”
The High Court further stated that its consideration was confined only to the effect of co-accused being granted bail and the long period of undertrial custody.
The SLP before the Supreme Court contends that the High Court failed to independently evaluate the facts or allow arguments on merits.
It further argues that the prosecution’s reliance on WhatsApp chats between Mansoori and Farooque, images of motorcycles, GSPC tanks, and an ISIS flag allegedly found on his phone are misinterpreted and do not demonstrate any terrorist conspiracy.
The plea explains that photographs of GSPC tanks were taken during a permitted site visit, and the existence of a genuine passport contradicts allegations of his being asked to “make” a fake one.
“It is the prosecution’s own case that the petitioner was working as a scrap dealer in Jogeshwari, Mumbai. The content recovered from his mobile does not establish criminal intent. The passport was genuine, and its existence undermines the alleged conversation,” it states.
The petition further highlights that out of 83 prosecution witnesses, only 29 have been examined in the past seven years, with no indication of early conclusion of the trial.
It argues that bail is being denied solely due to the “seriousness of allegations,” without substantive evidence or independent material pointing to his role.
Seeking parity with co-accused Faisal, who is already out on bail, the petitioner urged the Court to consider the excessive delay, lack of evidence, and his constitutional right to a speedy trial.
UNI
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