<p>New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday acquitted a Sri Lankan national who was sentenced to a five-year jail term for alleged involvement in activities aimed at the revival of the banned LTTE, upon finding that he was falsely implicated.</p><p>The man, who was arrested in December 2021 in connection with the 2015 case lodged under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, had claimed that it was a case of "mistaken identity" as he was not the accused named "Sri" who was absconding.</p>.SC allows for euthanasia of ‘dangerous dogs'.<p>A bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and Vijay Bishnoi found "inaction and indolence" on the part of the investigating agency, as it has not placed on record any material to demonstrate the steps taken by it to locate, apprehend and bring the absconding accused to trial.</p><p>Allowing the appeal, the bench said, "A person who is an absconding accused in a serious UAPA matter would not dare to apply to a foreign embassy for a visa and seek a police clearance certificate from the very police station in whose jurisdiction he admittedly resided under a false identity. This conduct is wholly inconsistent with the prosecution’s case and is entirely consistent with the conduct of an innocent person going about his routine life.''</p><p>The court acquitted the appellant of the charges and ordered his release from the Special Camp, Trichy forthwith. It set aside the Madras High Court's judgment of April 3, 2025, which upheld the trial court's decision of July 18, 2024, holding him guilty in the case.</p><p>The bench said he would be at liberty to pursue his request for relocation or movement to Switzerland, in accordance with the law.</p><p>The appellant in 2009 came to India along with his wife Smt Archana and his son Pavalan, holding a legally valid Sri Lankan passport issued by the Government of Sri Lanka and a valid tourist visa granted by the Government of India. Before departing from Sri Lanka, the appellant received clearance from the Sri Lankan law enforcement authorities confirming that he did not have any criminal antecedents. The name of the appellant as recorded in the passport was Ranjan. </p><p>He got registered with the K.K. Nagar Police Station at Trichy, Tamil Nadu. The appellant stayed in Trichy for more than a decade without any criminal conduct or complaint against his name. </p><p>In 2014, his wife and son left for Switzerland where they sought asylum and were granted citizenship. He also applied for Swiss Visa but he was arrested on December 16, 2021 with the allegation that his actual name was 'Sri' alias 'Ranjan' and that he was an accused in a pending case.</p><p>It was alleged that the appellant along with others was trying to rejuvenate the banned Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam organisation.</p><p>It was alleged in furtherance of the criminal conspiracy, 'Sri' handed over 75 cyanide capsules and 60 grams of chemical GPS-4 used for making cyanide to accused Krishnakumar, with specific directions to proceed to Sri Lanka by ferry and hand over the same to one 'Kavi', a Sri Lankan national, so as to re-organise the LTTE cadres and to eliminate rival Tamil leaders. </p><p>However, the apex court found that apart from the inconsistencies in the testimonies of the witnesses, the prosecution’s case was further weakened by the documented and lawful conduct of the appellant during the period he was alleged to have been absconding.</p><p>The court noted that the appellant was continuously and openly residing in Trichy and had duly registered himself as a refugee.</p><p>"The total lack of effort on the part of the investigating officers to trace and apprehend the absconding accused 'Sri', or to establish any credible link between 'Sri' and appellant Ranjan during this entire period, itself creates a grave doubt regarding the bona fides of the prosecution’s case,'' the bench said.</p>
<p>New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday acquitted a Sri Lankan national who was sentenced to a five-year jail term for alleged involvement in activities aimed at the revival of the banned LTTE, upon finding that he was falsely implicated.</p><p>The man, who was arrested in December 2021 in connection with the 2015 case lodged under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, had claimed that it was a case of "mistaken identity" as he was not the accused named "Sri" who was absconding.</p>.SC allows for euthanasia of ‘dangerous dogs'.<p>A bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and Vijay Bishnoi found "inaction and indolence" on the part of the investigating agency, as it has not placed on record any material to demonstrate the steps taken by it to locate, apprehend and bring the absconding accused to trial.</p><p>Allowing the appeal, the bench said, "A person who is an absconding accused in a serious UAPA matter would not dare to apply to a foreign embassy for a visa and seek a police clearance certificate from the very police station in whose jurisdiction he admittedly resided under a false identity. This conduct is wholly inconsistent with the prosecution’s case and is entirely consistent with the conduct of an innocent person going about his routine life.''</p><p>The court acquitted the appellant of the charges and ordered his release from the Special Camp, Trichy forthwith. It set aside the Madras High Court's judgment of April 3, 2025, which upheld the trial court's decision of July 18, 2024, holding him guilty in the case.</p><p>The bench said he would be at liberty to pursue his request for relocation or movement to Switzerland, in accordance with the law.</p><p>The appellant in 2009 came to India along with his wife Smt Archana and his son Pavalan, holding a legally valid Sri Lankan passport issued by the Government of Sri Lanka and a valid tourist visa granted by the Government of India. Before departing from Sri Lanka, the appellant received clearance from the Sri Lankan law enforcement authorities confirming that he did not have any criminal antecedents. The name of the appellant as recorded in the passport was Ranjan. </p><p>He got registered with the K.K. Nagar Police Station at Trichy, Tamil Nadu. The appellant stayed in Trichy for more than a decade without any criminal conduct or complaint against his name. </p><p>In 2014, his wife and son left for Switzerland where they sought asylum and were granted citizenship. He also applied for Swiss Visa but he was arrested on December 16, 2021 with the allegation that his actual name was 'Sri' alias 'Ranjan' and that he was an accused in a pending case.</p><p>It was alleged that the appellant along with others was trying to rejuvenate the banned Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam organisation.</p><p>It was alleged in furtherance of the criminal conspiracy, 'Sri' handed over 75 cyanide capsules and 60 grams of chemical GPS-4 used for making cyanide to accused Krishnakumar, with specific directions to proceed to Sri Lanka by ferry and hand over the same to one 'Kavi', a Sri Lankan national, so as to re-organise the LTTE cadres and to eliminate rival Tamil leaders. </p><p>However, the apex court found that apart from the inconsistencies in the testimonies of the witnesses, the prosecution’s case was further weakened by the documented and lawful conduct of the appellant during the period he was alleged to have been absconding.</p><p>The court noted that the appellant was continuously and openly residing in Trichy and had duly registered himself as a refugee.</p><p>"The total lack of effort on the part of the investigating officers to trace and apprehend the absconding accused 'Sri', or to establish any credible link between 'Sri' and appellant Ranjan during this entire period, itself creates a grave doubt regarding the bona fides of the prosecution’s case,'' the bench said.</p>
