Gujarat HC grants temporary bail to Babu Bajrangi

The Gujarat high court on Thursday granted two-day temporary bail to Babu Bajrangi, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in the 2002 Naroda Patiya riot case, as his wife is undergoing a surgery.

A division bench of Justices M R Shah and S H Vora allowed Bajrangi's plea, filed and argued by his son Viren Babubhai Patel. He would be out of jail on April 20 and 21.

A trial court had last year held Bajrangi guilty as the main conspirator of the Naroda Patiya massacre, in which 97 people were killed.

Bajrangi's application said his wife Meena Patel had been diagnosed with a tumour in the uterus and she required a very risky operation, which needed Bajrangi's signature of consent.

The prosecution opposed it, saying that other relatives could sign the consent form, but the court granted the plea. He would have to move around with a police escort.

His earlier plea in this regard had been rejected because the medical certificate submitted did not mention the date of the surgery.

Recently, the Gujarat state legal department approved the recommendation of the Special Investigation Team to file an appeal in the high court, seeking death sentences to 10 convicts, including former minister Maya Kodnani and Bajrangi in the case.

The HC bench also granted temporary bail for a week to Pintu Jadeja, another convict of the Naroda Patiya case, who has got a 24-year sentence. He had sought temporary release to arrange money for the treatment of his nephew, who is suffering from a serious malaria infection.

He has been asked to produce a surety of Rs 10,000 and he has to be present everyday at the Naroda police station from April 19 to 25, while on temporary bail.