Samjhauta blast: HC asks MP Govt to produce accused on Feb 29

Madhya Pradesh High Court's Bench here today asked the State Government to produce Kamal Chouhan, a Samjhauta Express bomb blast accused arrested by National Investigation Agency (NIA), before it on February 29.

Taking up a habeas corpus writ, a Division Bench of Justices KK Lahoti and PK Jaiswal issued notices to four parties, including MP Home Secretary, Superintendent of Police (Indore) and Thana In-charge of Depalpur, from where Chouhan was picked up on February 11, Chouhan's counsel Amit Sisodiya said.

In a brief hearing, the Bench also discussed the matter raised in the writ petition about "illegal detention" of Chouhan, Sisodiya and another counsel Virendra Khado said.

Additional Advocate General (Indore Bench) Manoj Divedi was present during today's hearing.

Chouhan's wife Seema filed the writ petition on February 13, alleging her husband's arrest was "illegal" and an act of "unlawful detention".

NIA has not been made a party in the petition, Sisodiya said.

A team of the anti-terror probe agency, led by Additional SP Vishal Garg, had arrested Chouhan from his residence in Depalpur near here and later produced him before a court at Noida near Delhi.


NIA had already charged Swami Aseemanand, Sadhvi Pragya, Sunil Joshi (now dead), Sandeep Dange, Lokesh Sharma and Ramchandra Kalasangra alias Ramji in connection with the terror attack.