Nalasopara arms haul case: HC grants bail to man held for making bombs for use at Pune Sunburn festival

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The Bombay High Court has granted bail to a 44-year-old man who was arrested in 2018 on charges related to his alleged association with the right-wing group Sanathan Sanstha and his purported involvement in the production of crude bombs intended for use at the Sunburn festival in Pune, PTI reported.

A division bench comprising Justices Revati Mohite-Dere and Gauri Godse, in their decision dated September 20, ruled in favor of Vaibhav Raut, considering his extended incarceration for over five years and the uncertainty surrounding the timeline of the trial. The court also noted that there was insufficient corroborating evidence to support the prosecution's claim that Raut had actually manufactured the bombs. Additionally, it was emphasized that the godown where the explosive devices were discovered did not belong to Raut, the PTI report said.

Furthermore, the bench cited a prior order granting bail to a co-accused and underscored that the Sanathan Sanstha had not been officially banned or declared a terrorist organization by the central government.

Vaibhav Raut was apprehended by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in 2018 under various legal provisions, including the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, the Indian Penal Code, and the Explosives Substances Act, following the alleged recovery of crude bombs from a godown located in Nalasopara, on the outskirts of Mumbai.

In his bail application, Raut's advocate, Sana Raees Khan, pointed out that three other individuals implicated in the case had already been granted bail. Khan also argued that the godown where the crude bombs were found was owned by a different individual, not Raut.

The prosecution's case against Raut and the other accused revolved around their alleged membership in the Sanathan Sanstha, with the objective of clandestinely forming a terrorist group in Maharashtra and neighboring states to establish a 'Hindu Rashtra' (Hindu state). It was asserted that these individuals had collected and prepared crude bombs intended for use at the Sunburn festival in Pune, storing the explosives at Raut's residence and the aforementioned godown.

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The High Court's order took into consideration the fact that Raut neither owned the residence nor the godown where the explosives were purportedly discovered. Additionally, the court observed that the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) carries a minimum sentence of 5 years, extendable up to life imprisonment, and Raut had already spent five years in custody. Given these circumstances and the protracted nature of the trial, the court deemed it appropriate to grant bail.

Vaibhav Raut had approached the High Court in January of the current year after his bail plea had been rejected by a special court in December 2022. (With inputs from PTI)