More than 27 years after bomb blasts claimed the lives of 13 people and left scores injured in Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar market in 1996, the Supreme Court Thursday reversed the acquittal of two of the accused in the case and sentenced them and two others to imprisonment for the rest of their natural lives, without remission. A bench of Justices B R Gavai, Vikram Nath and Sanjay Karol, which discussed the evidence against the men in detail, said, “Therefore, in view of the above, it is evident that A3 (Mohd. Nasushad), A5 (Mirza Nissar Hussain @ Naza), A6 (Mohd Ali Bhatt @ Killey) and A9 (Javed Ahmed Khan) were part of a criminal conspiracy to cause the blast in the capital city, New Delhi”. There were 17 accused persons in the case; one of them died while seven could not be arrested and were declared proclaimed offenders. Among those who stood trial, four were acquitted by a trial court; three were sentenced to death and one was sentenced to life on April 8, 2010. In its judgment delivered Thursday, the SC noted that the state never filed any appeal against the acquittals. On appeal by the trio sentenced to death and the fourth accused who was sentenced to life, the Delhi HC on November 22, 2012, acquitted two who had been sentenced to death, commuted the sentence of the third to life imprisonment and upheld the life term imposed on the fourth. Reversing the HC decision acquitting two of those sentenced to death, the SC said, “We do not agree with the conclusions arrived at by the courts below, based on complete ignorance of the material on record.” Writing for the SC, Justice Karol pointed to the seriousness of the case over the blast which killed 13, injured 38 and caused extensive loss to properties, both moveable and immovable, and rued the delay in prosecuting it, saying this “has certainly compromised national interest”. “The record reveals it is only on the prodding on the part of the judiciary that the trial could be completed after more than a decade. The delay, be it for whatever reason, attributable to the judge incharge or the prosecution, has certainly compromised national interest. Expeditious trial of such cases is the need of the hour, especially when it concerns national security and the common man. Regrettably, enough vigilance was not displayed by the investigating as well as the judicial authorities. A prominent market in the heart of the capital city is attacked and we may point out that it has not been dealt with the required degree of promptitude and attention. To our great dismay, we are forced to observe that this may be due to the involvement of influential persons which is evident from the fact that out of several accused persons, only few have been put to trial. In our considered view, the matter ought to have been handled with urgency and sensitivity at all levels”, the SC said. The bench said, “We also note that the accused persons who have not faced trial or those against whom the State has not preferred an appeal, prima facie, seem to be a part of this conspiracy. However, since they are not before us, we refrain from delving into evidence against those persons.” On the question of sentence, the apex court said that it was sticking to the law laid down by it that a court may choose to give primacy to life imprisonment over the death penalty in cases which are solely based on circumstantial evidence or where the High Court has given a life imprisonment or acquittal.
