SC acquits 3 in RSS office blast case

SC acquits 3 in RSS office blast case
Dec 7, 2010, 05.20am IST

Tags:RSS office in Chennai|M P Rafiq Ahamed|Hyder Ali|CBI

NEW DELHI: The CBI on Monday suffered a setback with the Supreme Court acquitting three persons sentenced to life imprisonment in the case relating to the bomb blast at the RSS office in Chennai in 1993 in which 11 people were killed.

A bench of Justice B Sudershan Reddy and Justice S S Nijjar said the prosecution failed to conclusively establish the guilt of Abubucker Siqqique, M P Rafiq Ahamed and Hyder Ali in blasting the building in Chennai's M V Naidu Street in retaliation for the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992.

The apex court said the trial court had erroneously convicted the trio on the basis of their confessional statement of procuring gelatin and detonators for committing the offence, though there was no trace of the said material, as explosives like RDX and PETN were used in the daring attack.

The trio were earlier convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by a designated court on June 21, 2007, for murder, criminal conspiracy and various other offences under the TADA Act on the basis of the chargesheet filed by CBI.

The apex court said excepting the confessional statements there was no other independent evidence with regard to the participation of the accused in the conspiracy and the particular role played by them.

Read more: SC acquits 3 in RSS office blast case - The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/SC-acquits-3-in-RSS-office-blast-case/articleshow/7056140.cms#ixzz17WBKjfOu

Supreme Court acquits 3 alleged terrorists in RSS bomb blasts in Chennai

Published: Monday, Dec 6, 2010, 20:55 IST
Place: New Delhi | Agency: PTI

The CBI today suffered a setback with the Supreme Court acquitting three alleged terrorists sentenced to life imprisonment in the case relating to the bomb blast at the RSS office in Chennai in 1993 in which 11 people were killed.

A bench of Justice B Sudershan Reddy and Justice SS Nijjar said in a judgement the prosecution failed to conclusively establish the guilt of Abubucker Siqqique, MP Rafiq Ahamed and Hyder Ali of blasting the building in Chennai's MV Naidu Street in retalation for 1992 Babri Masjid demolition.

The apex court said the trial court had erroneously convicted the trio on the basis of their confessional statement of procuring gelatin and detonators for committing the offence, though there was no trace of the said material, as rather explosives like RDX and PETN were used in the daring attack.

The trio were earlier convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by a designated court on June 21, 2007, for murder, criminal conspiracy and various other offences under the TADA Act on the basis of the chargesheet filed by CBI.

The apex court said excepting the confessional statements there was no other independent evidence with regard to the participation of the accused in the conspiracy and the particular role played by them.

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RSS office bomb blast accused acquitted
. www.hindu.com/2010/12/07/stories/2010120750520100.htm

J. Venkatesan

The Supreme Court has ordered acquittal of three main accused in the case relating to a bomb blast at the RSS office in Chennai and directed their release forthwith. The TADA court in Chennai had awarded life imprisonment to them.

A Bench of Justice B. Sudershan Reddy and Justice S.S. Nijjar allowed the appeals of Kaza Nizamuddin, Hyder Ali and Abubucker Siddique challenging the life sentence and dismissed the CBI's appeals questioning the acquittal of some of the accused by the TADA court.

The prosecution case was that on August 6, 1993, there were loud explosions which resulted in the death of 11 persons, injuries to seven, and complete demolition of the building. Writing the judgment, Justice Reddy said, “Excepting for the confessional statements, admittedly, there is no other independent evidence with regard to the participation of the accused in the conspiracy and the particular role played by them. It is apparent that even according to the prosecution version, they could have only carried bombs made from gelatine.”

The Bench, accepting the arguments of senior counsel R. Natarajan and counsel G. Balaji appearing for the appellants, said the confessional statements reveal that what was purchased was only gelatine sticks from Gudiyatham and not RDX or PETN, which has got a serious bearing on the acceptability of the confessional statements of the accused and their involvement of all the accused in the conspiracy. The lid on the prosecution case is blown away by the report of forensic experts and the traces of the explosive material collected at the bomb site.

“The prosecution story does not inspire confidence on the basis of the material placed on record,” it said. www.hindu.com/2010/12/07/stories/2010120750520100.htm