KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Thursday dismissed appeals filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) against the Ernakulam NIA Special Court order granting bail to 14 accused in the gold smuggling case.HC observed that the material on record prima facie did not indicate the accused, who were granted bail, had acted with the intention of damaging the economic security of India.
“The trial court took note of the fact that most of the accused persons are businessmen having considerable assets. The material on record revealed that the accused, who are enlarged on bail, were indulging in smuggling activity for illegal gain. Of course, they were using a diplomatic channel for committing the offence of smuggling. On going through the material placed before the Bench, we are of the view that the special court is justified in entering such a finding,” the court held.
The Bench comprising Justice A Hariprasad and Justice M R Anitha, while dismissing the appeals, endorsed the view of the NIA Special Court judge that the material produced before the court were insufficient to hold that the accused persons had committed a terrorist act as defined under Section 15 of the UAP Act. The Bench agreed with the Special Court view that there was no intention of causing damage to the country’s economic security.
HC also observed that the Special Court had carefully taken enough precautions to ensure that those granted bail were obeying the directions and were not interfering with the progress of the investigation. “Measures had been taken in the bail order by imposing necessary conditions to secure their presence at the time of trial,” the court said. The probe agency, if it succeeds in digging out material to show the accused persons’ complicity in a terrorist act, could certainly move the court for cancellation of bail, the Bench added.