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Saturday, May 01, 2004

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Ghatkopar blasts case: POTA review panel puts off hearing

By Kalpana Sharma

MUMBAI, APRIL 30. The three-member Prevention of Terrorism Act Review Committee, headed by Justice A.B. Saharya, suspended its hearing in the Ghatkopar blasts case today because the State failed to present all the necessary documents, despite repeated requests.

On April 7, the committee ruled that prima facie there was no evidence against Zaheer Sheikh from Aurangabad, detained under POTA in the case. Subsequently, the special POTA court discharged him on April 18. The two co-accused from Aurangabad, Mohammad Matin and Sheikh Muzammil, are still in detention for being part of the conspiracy.

Today, Mr. Justice Saharya explained to the State Public Prosecutor, Rohini Salian, why the committee needed all the material presented chronologically and systematically, with necessary supportive material. "We are three persons who constitute this committee," he said. "Each of us thinks on our own. The three of us together also think collectively. Whatever you state, each of us severally and collectively would like to understand. This can only happen if we go step by step."

The judge also reminded Ms. Salian that in another case — the Mulund blasts on March 13, 2003 — she had come with all the necessary documents and hence the hearing concluded on Thursday. "If that team could give us the information, we do not see any reason why your team could not," he asked.

Earlier Mr. Justice Saharya asked Ms. Salian to explain on what basis the State had decided to use POTA against the three persons from Aurangabad. She said that it was on the basis of "source information." The Judge asked if there was any record of this. After several minutes of questioning, Ms. Salian admitted that there was none and said that certain informations were never written down. The Judge called this "a very sweeping statement" and said that he was "amazed at anyone saying that this was never done. It is like a commentator saying the ball has been bowled but there is no ball," he said.

Ms. Salian could not present in a chronological order the sequence of events starting from the information about the involvement of the suspects in the Ghatkopar blasts to their subsequent arrest. She also pleaded that several of the original documents were with the Bombay High Court where the matter is being pursued. In the absence of the original documents, the committee agreed to give the State one week to gather all the material and to reconvene "with short-notice" to complete the hearings. Mr. Justice Saharya said that it would not be fair on the detainees if the matter was postponed further.

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