3 Kashmiri students charged with sedition secure bail after 7 months

Bengaluru: Three Kashmiri students who had been arrested in February on charges of sedition and assault following a fight in their college hostel over alleged comments made against the Indian Army after the Pulwama terror attack managed to walk out of Bengaluru’s Central Jail after they were granted bail on personal bonds of Rs 1 lakh each and a local surety of Rs 25,000 each.

The three students – Haris Manzoor, Gowhar Mushtaq and Zaqir Maqbool were arrested on February 16 following a complaint lodged by principal of Spurthy Nursing College, Anekal, where the students were studying.

Earlier on March 19. the principal city and sessions court had rejected their bail petition citing that their comments could cause damage to the integrity of India and create disaffection against India in the minds of people.

However, after a chargesheet was filed, the students moved the court again for bail citing changed circumstances. Pronouncing his verdict Sessions judge SB Rahaman said what the students had been accused of was a private conversation and whether that comes under IPC sections 124A (sedition) and 153B (promoting enmity) has to be considered on merit. “They have been in judicial custody for long. Except for the Facebook conversation between friends, no other serious allegation has been made against the accused. Considering their age and the fact that they are pursuing studies, I feel that in the interest of their future, they deserve to be enlarged on bail with stringent conditions as they hail from J&K,” the judge said in his September 20 order.