Supreme Court asks Maudany to move trial court for clubbing blast cases

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court today asked Abdul Nazir Maudany, leader of Kerala-based People's Democratic Party (PDP), to move the trial court with his plea seeking clubbing of nine cases registered against him and others in the 2008 Bangalore serial bomb blasts.

A bench, comprising Justices J Chelameswar and A M Sapre, asked Maudany to move the trial court within a week with the prayer seeking clubbing of the cases and adjourned hearing on his plea by four more weeks.

The bench had earlier said it would first examine the legal provisions before deciding whether to conduct a joint trial or not.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for Maudany, had said there were 254 common witnesses in nine cases lodged in 2008 and sought joint trial for all cases.

Senior advocate Raju Ramachandran had opposed this submission and said he should approach the trial court first.

Maudany is the prime accused in the Bangalore serial blast cases of July 25, 2008, when nine bombs had exploded in the city, killing two people and injuring 20 others.

In July last year, the court had granted one-month bail to Maudany on health grounds.

The court had also said the Karnataka government was at liberty to take all steps to ensure that he did not get in touch with witnesses in the case, including putting him under surveillance.