Online Blog Case : Court not see offences established against accused persons in 2 FIRs
Online Blog Case : Court not see offences established against accused persons in 2 FIRs
Srinagar, Dec 19 : The Special Court in Srinagar said that no prima facie offences have been established against the accused persons in other two FIRs in online blog site “Kashmir fight” case.
On 7 July, this year, The Jammu and Kashmir Police had claimed to have arrested five persons running an online blog site that ran smear campaigns against prominent personalities in Kashmir. Later two accused were released on bail.
The former secretary of Srinagar Municipal Corporation Muhammad Akbar Sofi and his son Tabish Rehmani are behind bars in the case.
“ They were first arrested in FIR no. 51/2018 and later also booked in FIR no 82/2020 and FIR no. 41/21,” said advocate Aamir Massodi, who represented Tabish before court.
After hearing prosecution and defence counsels, advocate Mushtaq Ahmad Dar and Aamir Masoodi, the Court of Special Judge Designated under NIA Act, Srinagar, presided over by Manjeet Singh Manhas said that in present cases (FIR numbers 41/2021, 51/2018) till date no prima-facie offences have been made out against the accused persons.
“ Upon the currency of the bail applications I have called the police report from concerned police station and objections from the prosecution.
The additional public prosecutor has resisted the bail applications and has prayed for the dismissal of the same,” Court said.
“ I have also perused the case diaries in both the FIRS from which it reveals that the evidence collected by the Investigation Officer is not sufficient in the eyes of law to establish a prima-facie true case against the accused persons and from the record it transpires that the investigation in the case is heading towards U/s 169 of Cr.P.C.
In view of the material on the record there is not even a remote possibility to make out a true prima-facie case against the accused persons,” court added.
The court said that “it is the mandate of law that evidence on record should make out a prima-facie case against the accused to proceed ahead in the matter.”
“ But in the present cases the evidence on record and the circumstances do not knot a chain of events which could lead to the logical conclusion that the accused seems to have been connected with the alleged commission of offences,” it said.
“ Till date no prima-facie offences have been established against the accused person (FIR numbers 41/2021, 51/2018).
Bail is granted to a person in those FIRS where offences alleged to have been committed in the police report or case diary but in the present cases till date no prima-facie offences have been made out against the accused persons,” court said.
“ As such, there is no need to grant bail in instant cases. As such, all the connected applications are disposed off accordingly.
Applications after due completion be consigned to records,” it added.
