SC notice to NIA on man's plea arrested for aiding persons accused of terrorist activities

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought response from the National Investigation Agency on a plea filed by a man arrested for allegedly helping some persons accused of terrorist activities. A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and N Kotiswar Singh issued notice to the agency and sought its reply on a plea filed by Allahrakha Abu Bakar Manoori seeking bail on grounds of long incarceration as he has been in jail for seven years. The Bombay High Court on March 28 had refused bail to Manoori, noting that the offense he was charged with was serious. The prosecution had told the high court that Manoori was allegedly planning to provide vehicles to certain persons who had been trained in Pakistan for carrying out terrorist activities, including bomb blasts. He had also allegedly provided arms to some other accused, it said. The high court bench said Manoori faces the maximum punishment of life sentence, if convicted.

The matter was quite serious and there was sufficient material against the accused, the high court said. "The allegations pertain to acts which are a threat to the security of the country. The gravity of the offence cannot be overlooked," the judges said, while also noting that the trial had progressed substantially and the prosecution intended to complete it by the year-end.