New Delhi: The bail application of an accused in the Diwali-eve blasts case, Farooq Ahmad Batloo, was on Wednesday rejected by a court here on the ground that the offences allegedly committed by him were "quite serious".

"Keeping in view the fact that the alleged offences against the accused Batloo, are quite serious, I am of the view that he is not entitled to be released on bail," Additional Sessions Judge Babu Lal said.

Moving his bail application today, R M Tufail, counsel for Batloo, argued that he was only charged with collecting money for assisting the prime accused Tariq Ahmad Dar, to carry out the serial blasts.

The counsel also contended that he was not charged with criminal conspiracy to carry out the October, 2005 blasts and waging war against the country, but was only charged under Sections 17 and 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for which the minimum sentence was five years and of which he had already undergone two-and-half years.

Opposing Tufail's argument, public prosecutor Rajeev Mohan said that the offence charged against Batloo were of serious nature which had a maximum punishment of life imprisonment.

Earlier, the court, after going through the report submitted by the Medical Superintendent of AIIMS of another accused Gulam Ahmad Khan, sent him to the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS), in Shahdara here, for being kept under observation.

Source : PTI