146;93 blasts: Decision on TADA plea today

The special TADA court is likely to decide on the application moved by 16 convicts in the 1993 serial blasts case challenging..

The special TADA court is likely to decide on the application moved by 16 convicts in the 1993 serial blasts case challenging the applicability of TADA on them on Friday. Both parties completed their arguments today.

The application of the convicts cites a judgment by a Division Bench of the Supreme Court on May 18 in which Justice Markandey Katju expresses an opinion about the constitutional validity of TADA after its repeal on May 24, 1995. Justice Katju in his judgment states: 8220;That the legal proceedings can be instituted or continued even after the Act has expired, is clearly violative of Article 14 of the Constitution of India.8221;

Making it clear that the contention of the convicts is based on an opinion made by the apex court and not a decision, senior advocate Harshad Ponda said: 8220;The observations have been made so that the court does something in the matter. In the light of this, the only thing the court can do is to refer the matter to the High Court or the Supreme Court.8221;

Ponda argued that the judgment made by Justice Katju is the only one which has taken Article 14 of the Constitution Equality before the Law into consideration while discussing Section 14 of TADA. Section 14 of TADA states that any investigation, legal proceeding, punishment shall remain in force till May 24, 1995.

Special Judge P D Kode observed that if one was to consider the substance of Justice Katju8217;s opinion then it would also cover other repealed Acts like POTA, under which the Parliament attack case was tried.

Citing earlier judgments by the apex court, the prosecution argued that the matter should not be referred to any higher court.

Convicts extend support to Sena

MUMBAI: Some of the convicts in the 1993 serial blasts case have written a letter to Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray extending their support to the party. The letter, which was circulated among reporters on Thursday, states that the convicts have been duped by other political parties and portrayed as terrorists, which they are not. The Muslim community and the blasts convicts extend its support to Shiv Sena and it will continue to do so in the forthcoming election in 2009, it says. The letter also states that the politicians who are in power have adopted film actor Sanjay Dutt and seen to it that he is convicted under a lesser offence and not under TADA.