Blasts accuseds’ plea to examine experts rejected

October 1: The designated TADA court hearing the March 12, 1993, serial blasts case has rejected the plea of some of the accused to permit...

October 1: The designated TADA court hearing the March 12, 1993, serial blasts case has rejected the plea of some of the accused to permit the examination of nine experts or chemical analysers, who have submitted 52 reports to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The investigating agency has submitted these reports to the court as evidence.

The defence plea was rejected by designated Judge P D Kode, who considered the prosecution’s statement that it did not wish to adduce the evidence of experts for the purpose of establishing the charges. The judge felt that it was the prosecution who had to primarily chose the evidence to be adduced at the trial for proving the charges against the accused.

“The interference of the court was therefore unwarranted unless there was a possibility of miscarriage of justice,” the court noted in its order on September 27.

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The order assumes significance against the backdrop of the prosecution’s claim that Research and Development Explosive (RDX) was used in the serial blasts. The accused urged that experts be examined because they disputed the relevant articles submitted to chemical analysers. Besides, there was a delay in sending these relevant articles to the chemical experts, they pointed out.

Counsel for the accused, Farhana Shah and Subhash Kanse, submitted that these reports did not disclose the tests performed by chemical analysers during the analysis. Therefore experts should be summoned to inform the court accordingly.

Earlier, the defence had filed a similar petition which prayed for a direction to the CBI to produce these experts as witnesses. It was, however, withdrawn.