Moulana Mohammed Abdul Qavi, a prominent religious scholar of Hyderabad, was granted bail by the Gujarat High Court, five months after he was arrested by the Gujarat police in New Delhi in connection with a ten-year-old case.
A division bench comprising Justice Anant Deve and Justice Manindra Pal granted him bail on surety of Rs 50,000. The court also asked him to surrender his passport and appear before the Ahmedabad City crime branch once every month.
Though Moulana Qavi was named as an accused in 2003 criminal conspiracy case, and all other accused were arrested, produced in the court and were acquitted, he was not arrested for 10 years. He was shown absconding even as he was very much available at his Madarsa in Hyderabad and also visited Gujarat on several ocassions.
But the Gujrat police suddenly arrested him at the Delhi airport in March last when he was on his way to Uttar Pradesh to attend a meeting of Muslim Personal law Board.
Earlier in July last, additional principal judge of anti-terrorist court in Ahmedabad Geeta Gopi had rejected his bail petition. later, his lawyers moved the bail petition in the Gujarat High Court highlighting the fact that he was arrested on the basis of a secret witness who has already changed his earlier statement.
Moreover, the lawyers pointed out that the court already acquitted all other accused in the case including two more religouss scholars from Hyderabad Moulana Naseeru-ddin and Moulana Ashraf Ali.
Detective Crime Branch of Ahmedabad Police opposed the bail to Moulana Qavi saying he was facing serious charges of working for Pakistan based terrorist orgnaisations, having links with the ISI and conspiring and waging war against the country. Police also charged that he sent Muslim youth to Pakistan for traning to take revenge of post Godhra riots. Moulana Qavi strongly denied all the charges as wrong and baseless.