High court relaxes bail condition of Soofiya Madani

The Kerala high court today relaxed for a month the bail condition of Soofiya Madani, prime accused in the burning of a Tamil Nadu state corporation bus at nearby Kalamassery in 2005, stating she should not leave Ernakulam district without it's prior permission.

Soofiya, wife of PDP leader Abdul Nasser Madani, had sought relaxation of the condition, stating that she wanted to look after her children and ailing husband. She also said she wanted to be with her family during Ramzan.

Opposing her plea, the National Investigation Agency, which is investigating the case, submitted that if the condition was relaxed, she was likely to tamper with evidence and influence witnesses. Investigation in the case was almost complete and chargsheet would be filed without further delay, it said.

NIA Inspector, C Radhakrishana Pillai, stated that if the bail condition was relaxed, she would travel outside the district without any restriction.

Justice V Ramkumar, after hearing both sides, relaxed the condition for a month.

T Nazeer, an accused in the 2008 Bangalore serial blasts and suspected LeT militant, is among the accused in the case.

The bus was burnt on September 9, 2005, in protest against Madani's imprisonment in Coimbatore central jail in connection with the serial blasts in the city in 1998 in which 58 people were killed.