Delhi Police investigating the attack on Israeli diplomat has faced a setback with the Supreme Court refusing to review its order granting bail to the lone accused in the case.
Syed Mohammed Ahmad Kazmi, a journalist by profession, was granted bail by the apex court last year on October 19, against which the Delhi Police’s review petition was dismissed on Thursday by a Bench comprising CJI Altamas Kabir.
“We have gone through the review petitions and the connected papers. We do not find any merit in the same. Accordingly, the review petitions are dismissed,” read the short order passed by the Bench of CJI and Justices SS Nijjar and J Chelameswar.
The bench also dismissed the plea put forth by the Delhi Police for reviewing the October 19 order which held as incorrect the procedure adopted by the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate extending the time of investigation and remand of the accused for 90 days, with retrospective effect.
The apex court stood by its earlier decision after holding that the sessions court in June 2012 acted wrongly by extending the period of probe and remand in cases under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). This came as a huge blow to the police which would be bound to complete investigation within the stipulated period as the trial court would be without power to grant an extension.
Kazmi, who claims to have been writing for an Iranian publication, was picked up after a probe showed he had been in touch with the suspect who is believed to have stuck the magnetic bomb on Israeli diplomat Tal Yehoshua’s car on February 13 last year. Besides him, Iranian nationals Houshang Afshar Irani, Masod Sedaghatzadeh, Syed Ali Mehdi Sadr and Mohammed Reza Abolghasemi as suspects in the case.