ABDUL SAMAD Vs. NATIONAL INVESTIGATION AGENCY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Crl.M.C. No. 3813/2019 was filed by the petitioner seeking the setting aside of the impugned order dated 17.7.2019 of the learned Special Judge (NIA), Patiala House Courts, New Delhi in RC-20/2017/NIA/DLI apart from seeking grant of bail to the applicant in the said case. Vide the order impugned in the petition dated 17.7.2019, the joint application moved for release/discharge in relation to the applicant accused/approver Abdul Samad and Mahfooz Alam were taken up and in as much as the counsel for the applicant herein i.e., the approver, Abdul Samad vide an endorsement made on the application withdrew the application, the said application seeking the release/discharge from custody in respect of the applicant/approver Abdul Samad was dismissed as withdrawn.

(2.) The Court is presently not considering the merits or otherwise of the said impugned order dated 17.7.2019 and the present adjudication is in relation to Crl.M.(B) No. 7673/2020.

(3.) Vide the application Crl.M.(B) No. 7673/2020, the applicant has sought the grant of interim bail during pendency of the petition in NIA Case No. RC20/2017/NIA/DLI or for such period as the Court may deems fit. It has been submitted through this application by the petitioner/applicant that he seeks release on interim bail on account of the COVID-19 pandemic prevalent in the country and that at the time of submission of the said application dated 3.7.2020, he had spent 29 months in jail since his arrest and around 26 months in jail since the date of his pardon, i.e., 16.5.2018. It has been submitted by the petitioner that the chargesheet mentions 175 witnesses and around 55 documents have been sent to the FSL and that the trial has not even started and is likely to take a substantial period of time.