People stand in front of closed jewellery shops at Zaveri Bazaar, one of the sites of triple explosions, in Mumbai July 15, 2011.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday (November 4, 2025) granted bail to Kafeel Ahmed Mohd Ayub, an accused in the 2011 Mumbai triple bomb blast case, after he spent more than 13 years in prison without trial. The court said the right to a speedy trial under Article 21 of the Constitution cannot be sacrificed to statutory restrictions when the trial shows no sign of early conclusion.
A Division Bench of Justices A.S. Gadkari and Ranjitsinha Raja Bhonsale set aside a February 2022 order of the special MCOCA court that had rejected Ayub’s bail plea. “According to us, the possibility of concluding the trial of the present case in near future is bleak,” the Bench observed, noting that Ayub, now 65, suffers from age-related ailments.
The judges stressed that “speedy and expeditious trial is a facet of right to live as embodied under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.” They relied on the Supreme Court’s ruling in Union of India vs K.A. Najeeb (2021), which held that constitutional courts can grant bail when prolonged incarceration violates fundamental rights.
Quoting the apex court, the Bench noted, “The rigours of such provisions will melt down where there is no likelihood of trial being completed within a reasonable time and the period of incarceration already undergone has exceeded a substantial part of the prescribed sentence.”
The High Court added, “Had it been a case at the threshold, we would have outrightly turned down the respondent’s prayer. However, keeping in mind the length of the period spent by him in custody and the unlikelihood of the trial being completed anytime soon, the High Court appears to have been left with no other option except to grant bail.”
2011 Mumbai triple blasts case
Ayub, a resident of Mohalla Shivdhara in Darbhanga, Bihar, was arrested on February 22, 2012, by the Delhi Police and later taken into custody by the Maharashtra ATS on May 19, 2012. He is accused of giving shelter to co-conspirators, including Yasin Bhatkal, before or after the July 13, 2011, blasts at Opera House, Zaveri Bazaar and Dadar’s Kabutarkhana, which killed 27 people and injured over 100.
“Prima facie, the role attributed to the Appellant is of giving shelter to co-accused either prior to or after commission of the alleged offence,” the court noted.
Charges were framed only on March 5, 2021, nearly nine years after his arrest. The prosecution initially cited 700 witnesses, later reducing the number to 400. So far, only 167 have been examined, with 233 still pending.
“In the last more than 4½ years, the prosecution has examined only 167 witnesses,” the Bench said, adding that the possibility of concluding the trial soon was “bleak”.
The court has ordered him to furnish a personal bond of ₹1 lakh with local sureties and comply with strict conditions, including monthly reporting to the ATS, surrendering his passport, and not leaving the trial court’s jurisdiction without permission. He must also not tamper with evidence or influence witnesses and attend all trial dates unless exempted.
The court observed, “It is made clear that the observations made herein are prima facie in nature and for deciding the Application for bail only.” The trial court will decide the case on its merits, the court said.
Published – November 05, 2025 12:57 am IST
