Mumbai: The bail petitions of seven alleged members of Dawood Ibrahim gang, arrested on the State's appeal challenging their acquittal from the charge of conspiracy to kill Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani would come up for hearing before the Bombay High Court on March 10.

The court had admitted the State's appeal against their acquittal in December last and asked the accused to surrender. However, their bail was rejected by a sessions court when they surrendered on January 19. Being aggrieved, they moved the High Court, which deferred the matter to March 10.

The accused are Akbar Hussain Shafi Hussain, Zakir Hussain Shaikh, Mohammed Hanif, Javed Khan, Srinivas Naidu alias Tohil, Mohammed Saddiq Ansari and Mohammed Sadiq Shaikh. They were defended by lawyer Mubin Solkar.

On August 4 last year, the trial court discarded prosecution evidence and acquitted them. Judge M V Marathe, acquitting the accused, observed that the prosecution had failed to prove the charges of conspiracy and waging war against the nation.

The court had also pulled up police for its lapses and observed that the FIR (First Information Report) appeared to be "concocted" and the delay in filing the FIR was not explained by the prosecution. The court also disbelieved the panch witnesses who had claimed to witness recovery of a pistol from accused Akbar Hussain.

However, the State filed an appeal in Mumbai High Court saying the trial court had erred in acquitting them and had wrongly disbelieved the evidence given by a star witness.

According to police, the accused had allegedly hatched a conspiracy in 2001 to kill the then Union Home Minister L K Advani. They had conspired in Mumbai and held meetings at Bharat Cafe restaurant in suburban Ghatkopar.

Police also alleged the accused had gone to Lucknow in furtherance of the conspiracy to kill Advani, as the then Home Minister was to visit Lucknow in September 2001.

Police alleged that the accused had allegedly plotted to strike vital installations in the country and even bomb the Police Commissioner's office and Mantralaya in Mumbai. In this regard, they had recorded the statement of witness Mohammed Hussain Dalvi.

The trial court however did not believe the statement of the witness, saying he was not an independent witness and could not be relied upon.

Police further alleged that the accused were in constant touch with Pakistan-based gangsters Chhota Shakeel and Anwar on mobile phone and had received instructions to kill Advani.

The court also did not take into account the recovery of a pistol from the accused Akbar Hussain. It did not believe the pancha because he had taken a contrary stand on two occasions.

The alleged conspiracy came to light with the arrest of accused Javed Khan who was held in Ghatkopar in another case. During interrogation, he allegedly revealed the conspiracy to kill Advani and strike vital installations in Mumbai and elsewhere in the country.