SC grants interim bail to 4 convicts of '93 Mumbai bomb blasts

New Delhi, Sep 7 (UNI) The Supreme Court today granted interim bail to four convicts in the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts case till the copies of the judgement are supplied to them by the TADA court.

Three out of four convicts namely Yusuf Abdul Razak Memon, Rubina Suleman Memon and Essa alias Anjum Abdul Razak Memon have been sentenced to life imprisonment along with a fine of Re one lakh each while the fourth convict, Mubina alias Baya Moosa Bhiwandiwala has been sentenced to five years imprisonment.

A bench comprising Justices Arijit Pasayat and P Sathasivam ordered the release of the four petitioners with the directions that all the four petitioners will surrender immediately on being given the copy of the trial court judgement.

The petitioners have been given interim bail on the same conditions as were imposed on filmstar Sanjay Dutt, who was awarded six years imprisonment under the Arms Act.

The TADA court has already indicated that the copies of the judgement can be supplied to the convicts on September 27.

The petitioners had sought their release on interim bail on the grounds that they were not in a position to challenge their conviction and sentence on merits, since they were not aware of the reasons, which led the TADA court to convict them.

They also pleaded that other convicts in the case including bollywood star Sanjay Dutt have already been granted interim bail on the same grounds.

The convicts have been directed to furnish sureties of various amounts, subject to the satisfaction of the trial court.

The petitioners have been restored back to their pre-conviction stage as they were on bail during the trial.

Mumbai was rocked by bomb explosions at 10 places on March 12, 1993, leading to death of about 258 people and injuries to 100 others.

The explosions were caused to settle scores for the 1992 communal riots, which had rocked the commercial capital of the country in the aftermath of demolition of Babri Masjid at Ayodhya.

UNI