Raj HC rejects premature release of four convicts in 1993 serial train blasts case
Two people were killed and many more injured in the blasts on multiple trains on the first anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition
The Rajasthan High Court on Wednesday rejected the premature release of four convicts in the case of serial bomb blasts in multiple trains in 1993 citing ‘national security’.
The verdict was delivered by a division bench of the high court presided over by Justice Bhuwan Goyal and Justice Sudesh Bansal.
“In the impugned orders, apart from taking into consideration the profile of convicts, heinous nature of crime committed by them and the concern of national security, Rule 9(5) of the Rules of 2006 has also been taken into consideration. It has specifically been observed therein that terrorist activity is heinous crime and if their premature release is considered, it will be prejudicial to public peace and a serious threat to the society and nation, it will also send a wrong message to the criminals. Therefore, premature release of above-mentioned Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, 1987 (TADA) convicts is not recommended,” read the order copy seen by HT.
Two people were killed and many more injured in the blasts on multiple trains on the first anniversary of the 1992 Babri Masjid demolition.
The blasts took place in trains passing through Kota, Lucknow, Kanpur, Secunderabad and Surat.
All the cases from far-off cities were clubbed and heard by a special court under the TADA. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probing the case.
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The four convicts- Rajasthan’s Dausa-based Asfaq Khan, Mumbai-based Fazalur Rehman, Uttar Pradesh’s Kabinagar-based Abre Rehmat Ansari, and Karnataka’s Gulbarga-based Md. Aejaz Akbar- were sentenced to life-time imprisonment on February 28, 2004, by a designated court for cases under TADA in Ajmer.
On May 11, 2016, the Supreme Court also upheld the TADA court’s verdict for their life-time-imprisonment.
However, on December 26, 2022, the four appealed to the union ministry of home affairs (MHA) to consider their premature release given that “they have suffered a period of long incarceration substantially beyond the period of 20 years and presumably all petitioners suffer from various ailments,” according to the order copy.
The MHA rejected their plea on March 20, 2024.
“Even in the guidelines dated June 10, 2022, issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs for grant of special remission to the prisons on the occasion of celebrating ‘Aazadi ka Amrit Mahotsava’, the convicts of TADA have not been granted special remission, considering the heinous nature of such offences, which create threat to the national security as also breach of peace in society. Their submission is that the representation of petitioners, for their premature release, have been dismissed vide orders impugned herein, after taking into consideration all the relevant inputs and after consultation with the concerned prosecuting agencies and State Government”, the MHA statement said.
The Rajasthan High Court denied the premature release of four 1993 train blast convicts, citing national security concerns. The court emphasized the heinous nature of their crimes and potential threats to public peace. The convicts, sentenced to life imprisonment, had previously sought release after over 20 years of incarceration, but their appeals were rejected.