Samjhauta Express blast case: Swami Aseemanand granted bail

CHANDIGARH: Swami Aseemanand, an accused in 2007 Samjhauta Express blast case, was today granted bail by Punjab and Haryana High Court but he is unlikely to come out of jail as he is facing trial in two other blast cases.

A division bench comprising Justice S S Saron and Justice Lisa Gill granted bail to Aseemanand, a member of right wing Hindu group 'Abhinav Bharat', who has been in jail since December 2010.

Aseemanand also stands accused in blasts in Hyderabad Mecca Masjid and Ajmer Dargah in 2007.

During the hearing on the bail plea, which was going on for the past three days, Aseemanand's counsel Satyapal Jain today contended that there was no evidence of the accused's involvement in the case.

Only 35 out of total 299 witnesses have been examined in the case during almost four years, the defence counsel said, adding that he has been "falsely implicated" in the case.

However, the prosecution placed the entire record before the court.

Jain told reporters outside the court that Aseemanand was granted bail on certain conditions.

The conditions included that he will not leave the country without prior permission of court; he will attend each and every hearing fixed by trial court Panchkula; and he will not influence the witnesses, Jain said.

Earlier, Panchkula's NIA court had rejected Aseemanand's bail application after which he had moved the high court.

On December 26, 2010, Aseemanand was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation ( CBI) from Haridwar in Uttarakhand for his alleged role in the 2007 Mecca Masjid blast in Hyderabad in which 14 persons were killed.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had questioned Aseemanand about his role in the Samjhauta Express blasts on February 18, 2007. As many as 68 people were killed in the blasts in two coaches of the train in Panipat.