Asad denied bail, Akbar custody extended

There was no reprieve for the Owaisi brothers on Tuesday with courts rejecting the bail plea of Asaduddin, while extending the judicial custody of his brother Akbaruddin.

Sangareddy first class special judicial magistrate K Maruthi Devi rejected the bail petition of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimen (AIMIM) president and Hyderabad MP Asaddudin Owaisi.

Asaduddin was remanded in judicial custody for 14 days on Monday after he surrendered before the excise and prohibition court in connection with a 2005 case, where he is accused of insulting and obstructing a government official from discharging his duty. The MP’s advocates filed a bail petition on Monday, which was posted for hearing on Tuesday.

Meanwhile the advocates filed another bail plea for Asaduddin on Tuesday, stating that the MIM chief has to attend an important meeting on January 24 and also the ensuing Parliament session.

They submitted an invitation and a memo of the Jan 24 meeting, which they said would be attended by important people from across the country and even abroad.

Asking why they failed to mention the same in their plea on Monday, Maruthi Devi dismissed the petition. Thereafter, the arguments over Monday’s bail petition commenced. Asad’s advocates, explaining reasons for the MIM chief being unable to attend court hearings in the case, said he was busy attending on his brother Akbar, who was attacked by his rivals and hospitalised. Later, he was busy with party activists and Parliament, they said.

Public prosecutor Arpitha asked the court not to grant bail to Asad as he had failed to attend the court intentionally. She argued that the MIM chief is a learned man, well aware of court proceedings and laws, as he is a Barrister of Law from London. She wondered how he failed to attend the hearings at Sangareddy, which is only 60 km from Hyderabad, where Asad lives.

The judge adjourned the hearing to the afternoon session and after the proceedings commenced after the lunch break, she issued orders dismissing the bail petition.

Speaking to mediapersons outside the court premises, Aleemuddin, one of the advocates of the MP, said the magistrate had allowed them to appeal for bail in a higher court. After a discussion among advocates, they will decided when to file the bail petition in the district court. It will be either on Wednesday or Thursday, he said.

Meanwhile, Nirmal munsif magistrate K Ajesh Kumar issued orders extending judicial custody of MIM MLA Akbar till Feb 5. The junior Owaisi was accused of hate speech during a public meeting at Nirmal on Dec 22, 2012.

Amid tight security, he was taken from Adilabad district jail to Nirmal munsif court at 9 am on Tuesday. He was produced before the magistrate at 10:30 am. In 10 minutes, the magistrate issued orders extending his judicial custody. Police escorted Akbaruddin back to the district jail by 11:30 am. Akbar’s bail petition will come for hearing in the district session court on Jan 23.

Karwan MLA Afsar Khan, who attended the court proceedings at Nirmal, blamed the Congress for the brothers’ woes. He was Participating in a Urdu textbook distribution programme organised by former municipal vice-chairman of Adilabad Farooq Ahmed.