High Court dismisses NIA appeal against bail

A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Thursday dismissed appeals filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) against the NIA special court orders granting bail to 13 accused in a case registered in connection with the diplomatic channel gold smuggling. The Bench comprising Justice A. Hariprasad and Justice M.R. Anitha, while dismissing the appeals, endorsed the view of the NIA special court judge that the materials produced before the court were insufficient to hold prima facie that the accused persons had committed a terrorist act as defined under Section 15 of the UA(P) Act. The Bench also agreed with the view of the special court that materials on record prima facie did not indicate that the accused to whom bail had been granted had acted with an intention to damage the economic security of India.