Overview
- Two accused, Naquee Ahmed Shaikh and Haroon Naik, won bail from a special MCOCA court on Friday after nearly 15 years in custody.
- The court based the decision on prolonged incarceration and on parity with a February Bombay High Court bail granted to a co-accused.
- The judge set a Rs 1,00,000 personal bond for each man with solvent sureties, ordered passport surrender, and restricted travel without court permission.
- The case has moved slowly since charges were framed in 2019, with 203 witnesses examined and more than 100 still to go after the trial began in 2023.
- Prosecutors opposed the pleas as beyond a trial court’s power, but the judge said trial courts must enforce speedy-trial rights and made no findings on the case merits.