The Delhi court’s judgment in the 1987 Hashimpura massacre case, while observing that the lives of innocent men “have been taken by the State agency”, acquitted all surviving 16 PAC personnel who were accused in the case, saying that they cannot be convicted on the basis of “scanty, unreliable and faulty investigation which has gaps and holes”. The court of Additional Sessions Judge Sanjay Jindal said: “Not a single circumstance relied upon by the prosecution inspires confidence to establish the guilt of the accused persons”. The court has concluded that “it duly proved and established” that “about 40- 45” persons belonging to Mohalla Hashimpura were “abducted in a yellow colour PAC truck” by PAC officials and subsequently “shot at and thrown” into waters of Gang Nahar, Murad Nagar and Hindon river, Ghaziabad. It, however, added that “it has not been proved beyond reasonable doubts” that the accused are the PAC officials who abducted and killed the people or that the truck belonged to the 41st Battalion of PAC. [related-post] Observing that it is “painful” that several “innocent persons have been traumatised,” the court has said it can’t convict the accused by “ignoring basic principals of appreciation of evidence.” “.the court has to be on its guard to avoid the danger of allowing suspicion to take the place of legal proof.to avoid the danger of being swayed by emotional considerations,” it has said. Pulling up the prosecution agency, the court has questioned, as to on what basis names of the 19 accused were selected for prosecution. “Accused persons were arrested after several years of the incident but the basis for such arrest has not been explained during trial,” it said. Stating that evidence required to connect the accused with the crime is “actually missing”, the court said no witness “from Army or local police” , who were present and participating in the search operation with PAC, have been examined to “explain the circumstances and true facts.” The court has said that the survivors’ testimonies are in “complete harmony with each other”. On the search and arrest made by PAC, the court referred to the testimony of photojournalist Praveen Jain as “natural, genuine and reliable” and said his photographs “have corroborated the facts regarding search and arrest” carried out in Mohalla Hashimpura.
