HC quashes Baig's death penalty in Pune German bakery blast

March 17, 2016

Mumbai, Mar 17: The Bombay High Court today quashed the death penalty awarded to lone convict Himayat Baig in the 2010 German Bakery blast in Pune due to lack of evidence, but confirmed the life sentence imposed on him for possession of explosives.

A division bench of Justices N H Patil and S B Shukre said Baig is acquitted of all charges under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), under sections 120(B) (criminal conspiracy), 302 (murder) and 307 (attempt to murder) of the IPC, and under some sections of the Explosive Substances Act.

The court, however, confirmed Baig's conviction and life sentence imposed on him under section 5(B) of the Explosive Substances Act, for possession of RDX.

The court also confirmed his conviction under section 474 of IPC, for submitting forged documents while procuring mobile phone SIM cards.

The high court further said that it need not pass any order on the applications filed by two witnesses in the case, as it has acquitted Baig of the charges.

Notably, when Baig filed his appeal in the high court challenging the death penalty, two witnesses in the case had also filed an application seeking their evidence to be recorded again as their statement was taken under duress.

Dressed in a black shirt and blue jeans, Baig was present in the court when the judgement was pronounced.

Baig, who the police said was a member of the terrorist outfit Indian Mujahideen, was arrested in September 2010 for involvement in the blast at German Bakery, a popular eatery in Pune's Koregaon Park area, which killed 17 persons and injured 58, including some foreign nationals.

In 2013, a sessions court in Pune convicted him and awarded capital punishment. Himayat Baig, the lone convict in the case, was arrested in September 2010 from Latur in Maharashtra.

The ATS had recovered 1,200 kgs of RDX from Baig's residence in Latur after his arrest.

There are total eight accused in the case, of whom six are wanted.

Besides Baig, another accused Qateel Siddiqui was also arrested, but he died in Pune's Yerawada jail following a scuffle with other inmates.

The other wanted accused in the case are--IM operatives Yasin Bhatkal, Mohsin Choudhary, Riyaz Bhatkal, Iqbal Ismail Bhatkal, Fayyaz Kagzi and Sayyad Zabiuddin Ansari.

According to prosecution, the bomb used in the blast was assembled at Baig's internet cafe. Thereafter, he travelled to Pune by bus with Mohsin Choudhary and planted the bomb.

However, Baig's lawyer Mehmood Pracha had earlier argued that Baig was not even present in Pune at the time of the blast, and that he was attending a wedding in Latur.

According to Pracha, it was Qateel Siddiqui who along with Yasin Bhatkal went to Pune.

When Baig filed his appeal in the high court challenging the death penalty, two witnesses in the case filed an application in HC seeking that their evidence be recorded again as their statement was taken under duress.

Former journalist Ashish Khetan had also earlier filed a PIL, alleging that Baig was falsely implicated and the case should be probed afresh by NIA.

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‘Pay the worker before his sweat dries’: Madras High Court cites Prophet Muhammad’s teaching while ordering settlement of dues

News Network

December 21,2025

Invoking the teachings of Prophet Muhammad—“pay the worker before his sweat dries”—the Madras High Court has directed a municipal corporation to settle long-pending legal dues owed to a former counsel. The court observed that this principle reflects basic fairness and applies equally to labour and service-related disputes.

Justice G. R. Swaminathan made the observation while hearing a petition filed by advocate P. Thirumalai, who claimed that the Madurai City Municipal Corporation failed to pay him legal fees amounting to ₹13.05 lakh. Earlier, the High Court had asked the corporation to consider his representation. However, a later order rejected a major portion of his claim, prompting the present petition.

The court allowed Thirumalai to approach the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) and submit a list of cases in which he had appeared. It also directed the corporation to settle the verified fee bills within two months, without interest. The court noted that the petitioner had waited nearly 18 years before challenging the non-payment and that the corporation could not be fully blamed, as the fee bills were not submitted properly.

‘A Matter of Embarrassment’

Justice Swaminathan described it as a “matter of embarrassment” that the State has nearly a dozen Additional Advocate Generals. He observed that appointing too many law officers often leads to unnecessary allocation of work and frequent adjournments, as government counsel claim that senior officers are engaged elsewhere.

He expressed hope that such practices would end at least in the Madurai Bench of the High Court and added that Additional Advocate Generals should “turn a new leaf” from 2026 onwards.

‘Scandalously High Amounts’

While stating that the court cannot examine the exact fees paid to senior counsel or law officers, Justice Swaminathan stressed that good governance requires public funds to be used prudently. He expressed concern over the “scandalously high amounts” paid by government and quasi-government bodies to a few favoured law officers.

In contrast, the court noted that Thirumalai’s total claim was “a pittance” considering the large number of cases he had handled.

Background

Thirumalai served as the standing counsel for the Madurai City Municipal Corporation for more than 14 years, from 1992 to 2006. During this period, he represented the corporation in about 818 cases before the Madurai District Courts.

As the former counsel was unable to hire a clerk to obtain certified copies of judgments in all 818 cases, the court directed the District Legal Services Authority to collect the certified copies within two months. The court further ordered the corporation to bear the cost incurred by the DLSA and deduct that amount from the final settlement payable to the petitioner.

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