German bakery blast: HC bench not keen on hearing Himayat Baig's appeal

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court today said it was not inclined to hear confirmation of death penalty awarded to Indian Mujahideen (IM) operative Himayat Baig in Pune’s German Bakery blast in 2010 that left 17 people, including some foreigners, dead. When the matter came up before Justices V M Kanade and P D Kode, they said this should be heard by a bench headed by Justice N H Patil before whom it had come up earlier. [caption id=“attachment_1573433” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption] The Judges then asked the government pleader to refer the matter to Chief Justice Mohit Shah for placing it before an appropriate bench. Along with the confirmation of death sentence awarded to Baig, his appeal against his conviction will also be heard simultaneously. As per legal norms, the death sentence awarded to an accused by a trial court comes up before the high court for confirmation. Baig, an alleged member of IM, was arrested in September 2010. He was convicted by a special court in Pune in early 2013 for his role in the blast. The court had found him guilty of taking part in the conspiracy and executing the blast at German Bakery, a popular hangout of foreigners, in Koregaon Park area of Pune. PTI