In an in-chamber court proceeding, District Judge (DJ) I S Mehta allowed the application of National Investigation Agency (NIA), which sought extension of probe time up to 180 days, saying the articles alleged to have been recovered from Jundal is sensitive to "the issue of national security," the court sources said.
"Looking into the facts and circumstances and the articles alleged to be recovered from respondent/accused (Abu Jundal).. .. I allow the application of NIA and the accused is remanded to judicial custody for further period of 13 days and Jundal's application under section 167(2) of the CrPC is dismissed," the court said, while fixing the matter for further proceeding on January 17.
During the hearing, Jundal's counsel M S Khan moved the court for bail saying the NIA is delaying the filing of the charge sheet in the case and this does not entitle it to seek more time to complete the probe.
The NIA had also sought extension of Jundal's judicial custody saying its investigation is in progress and it could not disclose its details due to security reasons and the court could see the same in the case diary.
The NIA had lodged an FIR against Jundal following the unearthing of a Lashkar-e-Toiba's (LeT) conspiracy for terror strikes across the country.