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The Supreme Court today granted 10 days' interim bail to a man accused of being part of a criminal conspiracy to wage war against the Government of Syria, taking note of the fact that he has been incarcerated for 5 years and 11 months and that his brother has to undergo surgery.

A bench of Justice MM Sundresh and Justice Augustine George Masih granted him interim relief on the ground that the petitioner wanted to be with his mother and hearing-impaired child while his brother, who looks after them, undergoes surgery.

“The fact remains that the child has been suffering from the ailment from quite some time. The petitioner wants to be with his child and mother as the brother has to undergo surgery. Add to it the fact that he has been incarcerated for 5 years and 11 months. We grant him interim bail for 10 days from 11th September”, the Court stated.

The Karnataka High Court had in February refused to grant bail to the petitioner. Thus, he approached the Supreme Court.

Senior Advocate Siddharth Dave for the petitioner told the Supreme Court that the petitioner's brother suffers from a kidney disease and is the only person looking after the petitioner's mother and his son. He said that there would be nobody to look after them while the brother undergoes surgery.

Dave sought interim bail for one month, submitting that the petitioner had been in custody for more than five years as an undertrial and his regular bail plea was likely to come up in October.

“I am asking for a month to look after my mother and my child. The matter is coming up for regular bail in October. The court may release me on interim bail till October. I will come back and surrender. I have not been out from custody even once in six years. Only because of the emergency I am asking now,” he submitted.

The National Investigation Agency opposed the plea. It submitted that the disability of the petitioner's child had been invoked for some time and that the mother did not require any urgent medical intervention. The NIA also submitted that the brother did not live with the mother and the child.

Justice Sundresh observed that the Court did not find an emergency warranting one month's release, but since the petitioner has been in custody for almost 6 years, 10 days' bail may be granted.

“The only thing is we don't find any emergency. But he is pleading so much before us and he has been inside for 5 and a half years. We are not going to give him one month. We will give 10 days,” he said.

The Supreme Court, however, granted interim bail for 10 days from September 11.

The petitioner, Irfan Nasir, was arrested on October 7, 2020 in a case registered by the NIA under Sections 120B and 125 of IPC and Sections 17, 18 and 18B of the UAPA. The prosecution has alleged that he was part of a conspiracy to wage war against the Government of Syria and and was affiliated with the banned terrorist organisation Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP).

The case arose after two accused persons were arrested on March 8, 2020 for their alleged affiliation with ISKP. Another accused, Abdur Rehman alias Dr Brave, was arrested on March 17, 2020. During interrogation, he allegedly disclosed that pro-ISIS activists were operating in Bengaluru, recruiting and radicalising youths, raising funds and facilitating their travel to Syria through Turkey to join ISIS.

The case was registered on September 19, 2020 after the Union Ministry of Home Affairs directed the NIA to investigate. Searches at Nasir's residence allegedly led to the seizure of incriminating digital and physical material, including a diary. Based on the material, the NIA later filed a charge-sheet.

The Special NIA Court rejected his bail plea, holding that there were reasonable grounds to believe that he had committed the alleged offences and that Section 43D of the UAPA barred bail.

The Karnataka High Court upheld the order. It rejected his argument that the failure to furnish written grounds of arrest violated his rights, holding that the Supreme Court's judgment in Pankaj Bansal applied prospectively from October 3, 2023. Since Nasir was arrested in 2020, oral communication of the grounds of arrest was sufficient, the High Court held.

The High Court also rejected his plea based on delay in trial, noting that 19 of 60 prosecution witnesses had been examined and that the framing of charges had been deferred at the accused's request. It directed the Special Court to expedite the trial. His plea for bail on medical grounds was also rejected as he had not produced supporting documents.

Case no. – Special Leave to Appeal (Crl.) No. 4829/2026

Case Title – Irfan Nasir @ Irfi v. National Investigation Agency

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