Bombay High Court Grants Default Bail To Two Booked For Being PFI Members

A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and Gauri Godse pronounced the order on the pleas filed by Momin Moiuddin Gulam Hasan, alias Moin Mistri and Asif Aminul Hussain Khan Adhikari, both of whom were arrested by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on September 22, 2022. They were primarily booked for being PFI members.

The accused pointed out that the ATS had initially sought extension to file their chargesheet after 90 days of them being remanded to judicial custody. The duo contended that the ATS had sought extension for retrieving data from seized gadgets and for obtaining prosecution sanction from the designated authority.

On the first such application for extension of time to file chargesheet, the special court granted 30 more days to the ATS. Subsequently, the prosecution was given 15 additional days to file chargesheet as they were yet to receive a prosecution sanction.

Citing this, the accused then sought default bail before the special court, which however, rejected their application by an order passed on January 18, 2023. Thereafter, the accused petitioned the High Court.

Case title: Momin Moiuddin Gulam Hasan vs. State of Maharashtra