2019 Guwahati grenade blast accused under UAPA granted bail

Guwahati: The Guwahati High Court has granted bail to Indira Mohan Borah, who has been booked under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for his alleged involvement in the 2019 grenade blast at the Guwahati Central Shopping Mall. There was an accident in which 12 people were injured.
A bench of Justices Michael Zothankhuma and Malastri Nandi granted bail to Mohan Borah saying that the evidence against him did not show that he was involved in the grenade blast, though the bench added that he was a terrorist organisation.
The High Court’s decision to grant bail was based on an assessment that the evidence against Borah was insufficient to establish his involvement in the grenade attack.
Although it was recognized that Borah could be a member of a terrorist organization, the court emphasized that mere membership was not sufficient to detain him without proof of involvement in the specific act of grenade detonation.
A bench comprising Justice Michael Zothankhuma and Justice Malasri Nandi noted that till date only 20 of the 177 prosecution witnesses have been examined and two co-accused have already been released on bail.

The court also considered the length of time Borah had spent in judicial custody—four years, seven months, and twenty-two days—as a factor in its decision.

It was highlighted that despite the appellant’s long period of incarceration, the trial had progressed slowly. Furthermore, the court took into account the constitutional right to a speedy trial under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

Borah’s release was ordered upon the furnishing of a bail bond of Rs 50,000 and two sureties of the same amount. The court’s ruling underscored the principle that an accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty and that bail is a rule rather than an exception, especially when the evidence presented by the prosecution does not strongly suggest the accused’s direct involvement in the criminal act in question.