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More than 27 years after bombings killed 13 people and left scores injured in Delhi’s Lagpat Nagar market in 1996, the Supreme Court on Thursday overturned the acquittal of two defendants in the case and sentenced them and two others to prison terms for the crime. The rest of their normal lives without remission.
Discussing the evidence against the men in detail, the panel of judges BR Gavai, Vikram Nath and Sanjay Karol said, “Therefore, in view of the above, it is clear that A3 (Mohd. Nasushad), A5 (Mirza Nissar Hussain @ Naza) and A6 (Mohd Ali Bhatt @ Killey) and A9 (Javed Ahmed Khan) were part of a criminal conspiracy to cause the blast in the capital, New Delhi.”
There were 17 defendants in the case; One died while seven were not arrested and declared criminals.
Of those who were brought to trial, a court of first instance acquitted four; Three were sentenced to death, and one was sentenced to life imprisonment on April 8, 2010.
In its ruling on Thursday, the Supreme Court noted that the state had not filed any appeals against the acquittals.
On appeal by the trio of death row convicts and the fourth defendant sentenced to life imprisonment, the Delhi High Court on 22 November 2012 acquitted two of the accused.
Sentencing him to death, he commuted his sentence from the third to life imprisonment and upheld the life sentence on the fourth.
In its response to the Supreme Court’s decision to acquit two of those sentenced to death, the Supreme Court said: “We do not agree with the conclusions reached by the courts below, based on complete ignorance of the recorded material.”
Writing to the Supreme Court, Justice Carroll noted the seriousness of the case related to the explosion that killed 13 people, injured 38 and caused massive property losses, both movable and immovable, and cherished the delay in his prosecution, saying that this “has certainly hurt the public’s interest.” “.
“The record reveals that only by urging the judiciary to conclude the trial after more than a decade. The delay, whether for any reason, attributable to the judge in charge or the prosecution, has certainly damaged the national interest. Expedited trial in such cases It is the need of the hour, especially when it comes to national security and the common man. Unfortunately, the investigative and judicial authorities have not shown enough vigilance. A prominent market in the heart of the capital is under attack and we may point out that it was not dealt with with the required degree of speed and attention. We are alarmed We are compelled to note that this may have been due to the involvement of persons of influence which is evident from the fact that out of the many accused, only a few have ever been brought to trial. From our considered point of view, the matter should have been dealt with with urgency and sensitivity on all levels,” said the Supreme Committee.
The authority said, “We also note that the defendants who have not been tried or those against whom the state did not prefer to appeal appear, at first glance, to be part of this conspiracy. However, since they are not before us, we refrain from going into the evidence against these persons.”
On the question of punishment, the Supreme Court said it was bound by the law it set out which states that a court may choose to give priority to life imprisonment over the death penalty in cases based solely on circumstantial evidence or when the Supreme Court has sentenced him to life in prison or acquitted.
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