Tablighi Jamaat case: 76 more foreigners granted bail

New Delhi : A Delhi court on Thursday granted bail to 76 foreign nationals from eight different countries who had participated in the Tablighi Jamaat congregation at Delhi's Nizamuddin Markaz in March.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Gurmohina Kaur of Saket Court granted them bail on the personal bond of Rs 10,000 each. They will file the plea bargaining application by Friday.

Plea bargaining is a pre-trial negotiation between the accused and the prosecution where the accused agrees to plead guilty in exchange for certain concessions by the prosecution. The court has summoned accused belonging to Bangladesh on Friday.

Earlier this week, the same court had granted bail to Malaysian, Chinese, Brazilian, Australian, Fijian, and Philippian nationals who were part of the congregation in alleged violation of visa norms and guidelines issued by the Indian government on Covid-19.

Earlier on Thursday, 60 Malaysian nationals were allowed to walk free on payment of a fine of Rs 7,000 each. In their plea bargaining application, they had sought lesser punishment by accepting mild charges.

The Crime Branch of Delhi Police has named more than 900 foreign nationals in connection with the case. They have not been arrested. The FIR was registered against Tablighi Jamaat leader Maulana Saad Kandhalvi and others on March 31.

The accused persons have been charged under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Epidemic Diseases Act, the Disaster Management Act, and also for violating the prohibitory orders under section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.