UAPA Accused Not Entitled To Repeated Interim Bail For Family Rituals Without Cogent Reasons: Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court has recently dismissed an appeal filed by an accused in a UAPA case, who sought interim bail of three days to attend the Chehlam (40th day prayer ceremony) of his deceased sister, after having already been granted bail by the trial court to attend the 10th to 13th day rituals earlier.

The Division Bench of Justice Rajesh Rai K and Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum also noted the trial court's finding that there was another living male member in the family to carry out the 40th-day rituals of the deceased sister, and hence no cogent reason was made out to grant interim bail.

“…“Since the appellant has filed the present application to attend 40th day prayer ceremony of his deceased sister, that too, immediately after his earlier application being considered and granted by the Trial Court vide order dated 16.04.2026 to attend 10th to 13th day prayer ceremony, the present application has rightly been rejected by the Trial Court as there was no cogent reason assigned by the appellant as to why the similar application has to be entertained once again and as the trial of the case being at the fag end and that the offences alleged against the appellant being serious in nature”, the Division Bench noted in the order.

The appeal filed by the accused, 32-year-old Irfan Pasha, sought interim bail from the High Court to enable him to attend the 'Chehlam' ritual of his late sister, which lasts for 3 days. The trial court had earlier permitted the petitioner to attend the 10^th to 13^th day rituals of his sister commencing from April 19, 2026, by granting him interim bail on April 16. When he applied again before the trial court [NIA] for a second interim bail for the 40^th day ritual, it was rejected by the latter. Aggrieved by the same, the petitioner approached the High Court in appeal.

Pasha had been in judicial custody for over 9 years for allegedly committing a murder after being arraigned for offences under Sections 302, 201 r/w 34 of IPC, Sections 3 and 27 of the Arms Act, and Sections 15, 16, 17, 18, 20 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.

Sr. Adv. Mohammed Tahir, appearing for Pasha, contended that the trial court failed to appreciate the humanitarian ground for the grant of interim bail, given that the 40th day ceremony is a significant event where family members assemble to pray for the departed soul. The counsel also argued that the statutory bar under Section 43D(5) of the UAPA Act, though stringent, does not exclude judicial discretion in cases of urgent humanitarian grounds.

Adv. P. Prasanna Kumar, appearing for the NIA, concurred with the findings of the trial court while denying the grant of interim bail a second time for the lack of cogent reasons. The trial court had also emphasised the potential delay for completion of the trial and the flight risk posed by the accused person if he were to be granted interim bail.

After perusing the ration card, the trial court had earlier noted that there were other male members in the family to perform the ritual, among other grounds urged by the NIA. Accordingly, the Division Bench of the High Court also found no merit in the appeal and chose not to interfere with the trial court's order.

“In our considered view, the Trial Court vide impugned order has rightly rejected the application of the appellant for interim bail, which does not call for any interference at the hands of this Court. Accordingly, the appeal lacks merit and the same is dismissed”, the court concluded.

Case Title: Irfan Pasha v. National Investigation Agency

Case No.: Criminal Appeal No. 812 of 2026 (21(NIA))

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