Supreme Court allows Maudany to travel to his hometown in Kerala

The Supreme Court modified the bail conditions and has allowed Abdul Nazir Maudany, the prime accused in the 2008 Bengaluru serial bomb blasts case, to travel to his hometown Kollam in Kerala from Bengaluru

The Supreme Court on July 17 allowed Abdul Nazir Maudany, People’s Democratic Party chairman and prime accused in the 2008 Bengaluru serial bomb blasts case, to travel to his hometown Kollam in Kerala from Bengaluru.

A Bench of Justice A.S. Bopanna and M.M. Sundresh modified a condition imposed on Maudany by the Supreme Court while granting him bail in July 2014. The Supreme Court, on July 11, nine years ago, had permitted him bail on the condition that he remained in Bengaluru for the entire duration of the trial.

On Monday, senior advocate Kapil Sibal and advocate Haris Beeran, for Maudany, submitted that the examination of witnesses in the case was over and he was not required to be present in court until the day of pronouncement of the judgment in the case.

Mr. Sibal said Maudany was an amputee and wheel-chair bound. He was ailing and had returned to Bengaluru whenever the court had given him leave to visit Kerala in the past.

Modifying the bail condition, the Bench permitted Maudany to go to his hometown, where he would report to the local police station every 15 days. The court ordered him to inform the local police station before travelling from Kollam to Ernakulam for his hospital visits.

Earlier in April, the Supreme Court had similarly allowed Maudany to travel to Kerala, provided he bore the expenses of his police escort. However, the visit was later aborted after Maudany said he could not afford the escort expenses.

In one of his repeated petitions, Maudany had submitted that he was “constrained to remain in Bengaluru, away from his hometown, facing unfamiliar atmosphere, unfavourable climate conditions and extra financial burden. He has been suffering from a catena of diseases and his health condition is critical”.