Over two decades after serial blasts in six Rajdhani Express trains across the country, the Supreme Court upheld the life term for 10 accused persons while acquitting four others.
A Bench of Justices F.M.I. Kalifulla and U.U. Lalit said the prosecution has been successful in establishing the roles of the 10 accused in the 1993 crime.
Fourteen of 16 convicts had appealed against the 2004 decision of the designated court under the now-extinct Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act. While one of the 16 accused escaped and was later apprehended, another claimed to be a juvenile at the time of the crime.
The explosionsThe bombs blasts occurred in six Rajdhani Express trains across the country on the intervening night of December 5 and 6, 1993 — the first anniversary of the demolition of the Babri Masjid — killing two and injuring many.
The two-decade case was cracked when some of the accused came forward to confess to their crimes. The judgment, authored by Justice U.U. Lalit, dismissed the allegations that the confessions recored were done under duress from the police.
The court observed in the verdict that confessions were “admissible under the law.” The court also took note of the fact that the investigation was witness to multiple confessions. This factor was used by the trial court and viewed in the appellate stages as evidence. That is, one confession corroborated the other, leading to an unbreakable chain of circumstantial evidence.
