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Ahmedabad blast: SC says no to trial outside
Gujarat
Thursday July 07, 2011 08:12:30 AM,
IANS
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New Delhi:
The Supreme Court Wednesday declined the petitions of the 64
accused in the 2008 Ahmedabad-Surat serial blasts case seeking
transfer of the trial outside Gujarat.
The petitioners contended that the atmosphere in the state was too
surcharged for a free and fair trial. They referred to certain
incidents, saying the trial against them would not be free of
bias.
The apex court bench of Justice Altamas Kabir and Justice Cyriac
Joseph, while disposing the petitions, said the atmosphere in
Gujarat was no longer surcharged and there was no apprehension of
bias obstructing a free and fair trial.
Justice Kabir said: "The offences with which the accused have been
charged are of a very serious nature, but except for an
apprehension that justice would not be properly administered,
there is little else to suggest that the charged atmosphere which
existed at the time when the offences were alleged to have been
committed, still exist and was likely to prejudice the accused
during the trial."
"As mentioned earlier, the communally surcharged atmosphere which
existed at the time of the alleged incidents, has settled down
considerably and is no longer as volatile as it was previously,"
the judgment read.
The court ruled that there were no grounds for the transfer of the
trial outside the state.
The judges said that though the ground of free and fair trial was
of great importance but it could not be the only aspect to be
considered while deciding whether a criminal trial could be
transferred out of a state.
The court said if there were any new incidents giving rise to
apprehensions of real obstruction to free and fair trial, the
petitioners could again approach it.
"The golden thread which runs through all the decisions cited on
behalf of the parties, is that justice must not only be done, but
must also be seen to be done," the judgment said.
"If the said principle is disturbed, fresh steps can always be
taken under Section 406 of the Criminal Procedure Code and Supreme
Court Rules, 1966 for the same relief," the court said.
A series of 16 synchronised bombings ripped through Gujarat's main
city of Ahmedabad July 26, 2008, killing over 50 people and
injuring many more. Nearly 20 bombs were recovered in Surat before
they could go off.
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