SC questions TADA court on delay in framing of charges in 1993 serial blasts case

The Supreme Court has sought a report from Ajmer's TADA court as to why charges could not be framed for about 10 years against a Lucknow resident arrested in a case linked to serial blasts in Rajdhani and other trains on the first anniversary of Babri mosque demolition in 1993.

A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and M R Shah took a grim view of the situation as petitioner Hameer Ui Uddin alias Hamid alias Hamiduddin contended that the speedy trial is a fundamental right implicit in the guarantee of life and personal liberty enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution.

Advocates Shoeb Alam and Farrukh Rasheed, appearing for the petitioner, sought bail for their client saying he has remained confined in jail since March 18, 2010 and the trial had not yet commenced in the case. They challenged the validity of the Special Court's order of March 27, 2019, refusing him the relief.

Taking their plea into consideration, the bench said, "The Special Judge, Designated Court, Ajmer, Rajasthan is directed to submit a report to this court, within a period of two weeks on the status of TADA Special Case. The report shall clarify why charges have not been framed."

To facilitate the submission of the report expeditiously, the bench requested the Supreme Court's Registrar (Judicial) to communicate a copy of the order to the Special Judge, Designated Court, Ajmer, Rajasthan directly as well as through the Registrar (Judicial) of the High Court of Rajasthan.

During the hearing, the Rajasthan government, for its part, submitted that after preliminary investigation, the case was transferred to the CBI on January 4, 1994.

The CBI, which registered the FIR under the provisions of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, the Explosives Act and the IPC, filed a charge sheet against the petitioner on August 25, 1994.

The petitioner-accused, however, remained absconding for 15 years before his arrest by the Special Task Force of Uttar Pradesh police in Lucknow in 2010.

According to the prosecution, on the intervening night of December 5-6, 1993, serial bomb blasts took place in Rajdhani Express, Flying Queen Express, and AP Express, causing the death of two passengers and injuries to 22 others.

Five separate cases, registered by GRP Kota, Valsad, Kanpur, Allahabad, Malkajgiri, were clubbed together after the CBI took over the probe, on the ground that bomb blasts in those prestigious trains were the outcome of a single conspiracy.

The CBI claimed the petitioner-accused carried the bomb devices and explosives to Kanpur on December 5, 1993 along with co-accused M Jamal Alvi and Irfan Ahmed and stayed in a hotel with fictitious names of Ram Kumar and Ramesh.