Owaisi gets bail in both cases, to be released Saturday

Hyderabad  :  MIM leader Akbaruddin Owaisi was Friday granted bail in both cases of hate speech in Adialabad and Nizamabad districts of Andhra Pradesh. He is likely to walk out of jail Saturday.

A couple of hours after a court in Nizamabad town approved his bail, another court in Adilabad also passed orders granting him bail, clearing the decks for his release from jail.

The Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) legislator is likely to be released from jail Saturday as the court orders were pronounced Friday evening and all bail formalities have to be completed, his lawyer said.

Granting conditional bail on health grounds, Adilabad’s First Additional District and Sessions Judge A. Venkateshwar Reddy directed Owaisi to surrender his passport, not to enter Nirmal town and not to make any provocative statement.

The MIM leader’s lawyers had submitted in both the courts that his condition was deteriorating and he needed super specialty treatment. They also argued that police have already completed their probe.

Earlier, a court in Nizamabad approved bail for Owaisi on health grounds on a bond of Rs.10,000 and two sureties.

A member of the assembly from Chandrayangutta in Hyderabad, Owaisi is facing charges of sedition, waging war against the nation and promoting enmity between people. He is the younger brother of MIM chief and MP Asaduddin Owaisi.

Akbar Owaisi is lodged in district jail in Adilabad, 300 km from here, since Jan 8 when he was arrested in hate speech case booked against him in Nirmal town on Jan 3. A separate case was booked in Nizamabad.

He had delivered the controversial speeches at public meetings in Nizamabad and Nirmal on Dec 8 and 22 respectively. Police took action after the speeches went viral over social networking sites and some people lodged complaints with police and courts.

The MIM leader, who was away in London, returned here Jan 7 and was arrested by police the next day.

Police in both the districts questioned him. His voice was recorded in both the courts and sent for forensic examination as he had claimed that the voice in footage was not his. Police were still awaiting the forensic reports.

Meanwhile, MIM activists in Hyderabad, Adilabad, Nizamabad and other districts celebrated court orders granting bail to their leader. Carrying party flags, they came on the streets, distributing sweets and bursting firecrackers.

File Photo  : AFP