Would Kasab Also Have Been Granted Bail If The Trial Was Delayed The Central Government Asked The Supreme Court

The Central Government has raised serious questions on the various comments of the Supreme Court regarding bail in cases registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The Center asked the court whether bail can be granted to accused in serious cases like terrorism merely on the basis of delay in trial.

On May 18, the Supreme Court bench of Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan granted bail to Syed Iftikhar Andrabi, accused in the UAPA case. Andrabi was in jail for the last five years in a narco-terror case. The Supreme Court had said in its judgment that prolonged imprisonment cannot be justified and even in UAPA cases, “Bail is the rule, jail the exception.”

Meanwhile, the court also commented on an old decision of January 2026, in which bail was refused to accused Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in the Delhi riots case. At that time, the bench of Justice Kumar and Justice NV Anjaria had said that the level of involvement of the two was more serious.

In the May 18 judgment, Justice Bhuyan commented that the decision not to grant bail to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam weakens the Supreme Court’s precedents. “They cannot weaken, circumvent or ignore binding prior decisions,” he said.

The comment was made in the context of the high-profile 2021 case Union of India vs KA Najeeb. KA Najeeb was accused of being involved in a conspiracy to chop off the hand of Malayalam professor TJ Joseph in 2010. In that case, the Supreme Court had said that bail can be granted even in UAPA cases if the right to speedy trial is affected.

However, the central government told the court that the circumstances of every case are different and bail cannot be granted only on the basis of time spent in jail.

Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, citing the example of 26/11 Mumbai attack terrorist Ajmal Kasab and Pakistan-based terrorist Hafiz Saeed, said in the court, “If there are a large number of witnesses in Ajmal Kasab’s case and the trial takes 7-8 years, will he also be granted bail? It cannot happen.” He further said, “Suppose Hafiz Saeed is brought to India from Pakistan and it takes five years to collect foreign evidence, will he be granted bail only on the basis of delay?”

Advocate Rajat Nair, appearing for the Centre, also said that in every case the court should consider aspects like the role of the accused, the seriousness of the crime, the status of the trial and the reason for delay.

SV Raju said, “The latest judgment said that there is no need to look at the role of the accused and the nature of the crime. This approach cannot be right. Every case has to be evaluated on the basis of its facts.” He also argued that if the delay in the trial is caused by the accused himself, then the delay alone cannot be made the basis for bail. This entire incident has sparked a new debate regarding the decisions given by various benches of the Supreme Court and their interpretation regarding bail in UAPA cases.

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