Counsel for serial blasts accused demands clubbing together of cases for speedy disposal
Counsel for serial blasts accused demands clubbing together of cases for speedy disposal
Sample this: 2007- 2008: Serial blasts across India including in several metros. Blasts in Hyderabad, Jaipur, Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Surat. About 300 people dead. 
Delayed justice: A victim of the Delhi serial blasts of September 2008u00a0
pic/Imtiyaz Khan
2008- 2009: More than 100 people arrested by law agencies for masterminding the blasts and indulging in criminal conspiracy. All of them are allegedly members of the banned terror organisation Indian Mujahideen- affiliated to the Pakistan-based terrorist group Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT). 65 accused still absconding. 52 cases registered in five different cities-Ahmedabad, Surat, Mumbai, Jaipur and Delhi.u00a0u00a0
2009- 2010: Total 73,809 pages of chargesheet prepared, trial yet to begin in any of the cases.
2130- 2172: Probable time by when verdict is likely in these cases. Meanwhile, most of the accused, cops, judges and lawyers associated with the cases, would have passed away.
Today, however, is a significant day. Ajmal Amir Kasab, Fahim Ansari and Sabauddin Ahmad-the perpetrators of the 26/11 attacks- would receive their verdict, just after one and a half years of Mumbai being under siege.
Two parallels that co-exist in our criminal justice system. This is not the part of a study. These are the words of a lawyer representing the cases of these accused in courts spread over five different cities.
"In India, the average period of trial is three years but there are instances when the trial gets stretched beyond this. So if the trial of each case takes three years, Mufti Abu Bashar (one of the chief accused) who has been charged in 40 cases, will have to face trial for 120 years," said advocate MS Khan who is representing the accused.
Just like Abu Bashar, Sadiq Shaikh, who has been booked in 54 cases (20 in Ahmedabad, 15 in Surat, five in Delhi and one in Mumbai), would need at least 162 years to get his verdict.u00a0
There are others like Arif Badr and Mansoor Peerbhoy, Mubin Kadar Shaikh, Asif Bashir Shaikh, and Ismail Akbar Chaudhary who have been booked in 41 cases. The least number of cases are against Mohammad Saif, Zia-ur-Rehman, Mohammad Shakeel, Zeeshan Ahmad and Saqib Nisar, with 33 litigations against them.
Khan who decided to represent the accused amidst strong protest from his legal fraternity also said, "If we presume that the period of trial of each case is reduced to six months even then Mufti Abu Bashar will face trial for 20 years and Sadiq Shaikh will face trial for 27 years."
Interestingly, the period of trial is effective only when the accused are regularly produced before the courts. "But that is also not possible as these people are lodged in Sabarmati Jail, Ahmedabad. Gujarat police has invoked a clause- section 268- under which these people can not be taken elsewhere for their trial as they are considered dreaded criminals and terrorists," he said.
Considering the seriousness of the matter, Khan recently met Law Minister Veerappa Moily and Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh and requested them to shift the cases to Delhi. Besides pointing out the years that these cases will take to reach completion, he further referred to the alleged communal biases of cops in states like Gujarat, Maharashtra and Rajasthan.
"There are examples of atrocities by Gujarat government such as in the Sohrabudddin Shaikh and Ishrat Jehan fake encounters and other massacres of the minority community. In Jaipur jail too the terror accused have been treated unfairly by jail authorities," he said while speaking to MiD DAY.
Khan has submitted a representation before the Supreme Court and has citied instances where similar cases have been clubbed together for speedy trial.
Operation Kasab
Lone surviving Pakistani gunman of 26/11 terror attack Ajmal Kasab is suffering from a stomach ailment and may have to undergo a surgical procedure after the court pronounces its verdict today. "Kasab has been suffering from a stomach disorder. He cannot have full meals at one go and takes little food at regular intervals. If he eats even a bit larger quantity he vomits," said a senior police officer on condition of anonymity.
Though media reports have claimed he was suffering from hiatus hernia (the protrusion of the upper part of the stomach into the thorax through a tear or weakness in the diaphragm), there has been no official word on it.
Kasab, who has been lodged in a special cell at Arthur Road jail, would undergo the operation sometime after the special court delivers the verdict. Kasab was earlier admitted to the St George Hospital for a week after he had complained of chest pain.
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