Allahabad High Court acquits man in 1996 Ghaziabad bus blast case after 28 years in jail
The trial court had committed a ‘great legal error’ by relying on a purported confessional audio cassette, said the bench.
The Allahabad High Court has set aside the conviction of a Muslim man in the 1996 Ghaziabad bus bomb blast case, which killed 18 persons, stating that the prosecution had “miserably failed to prove the charges”, Live Law reported.
Mohammad Ilyas was arrested in Punjab’s Ludhiana in June 1997 and has spent 28 years in jail.
In its order on November 10, a division bench of Justices Siddharth J and Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra stated that it was acquitting Ilyas “with a heavy heart” as the “terrorist” attack had “shocked the conscience of society”.
The case pertains to a blast that took place inside a bus on April 27, 1996. In addition to those who died, 48 persons were left injured.
The prosecution had alleged that the attack was carried out by Abdul Mateen, a Pakistani national and alleged district commander of the terrorist group Harkat-ul-Ansar, in conspiracy with Ilyas and a person identified as Tasleem. In 2013, the trial court acquitted Tasleem but convicted Ilyas and Mateen of murder, criminal conspiracy and offences under the Explosive Substances Act, sentencing them to life imprisonment
In its order, the High Court observed that the trial court had committed a “great legal error” by relying on an audio cassette said to contain a confession recorded by the investigating officer, PTI reported.
“If this evidence is excluded, there is absolutely no evidence against the appellant in support of the charge,” the High Court said while noting that the Indian Evidence Act Section 25 prohibits the use of confessions made to police officers.
The bench rejected the prosecution’s argument that the provision permitting such confessions under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Prevention Act should apply in the case, noting that the provision had lapsed in 1995, The Indian Express reported.
The court also noted that several witnesses cited by the prosecution had turned hostile during the trial, while injured passengers and eyewitnesses were unable to identify who had placed the explosive device on the bus, Live Law reported.
