Surat: A court in Gujarat’s Surat on Saturday acquitted 122 persons arrested under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for participating in a meeting organised here in December 2001 as members of the banned outfit Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).
The court of Chief Judicial Magistrate A N Dave acquitted 122 persons arrested for being members of the banned outfit SIMI, giving them the benefit of doubt.
Five other accused had died during the pendency of trial.
In its order, the court said that the prosecution failed to produce “cogent, reliable and satisfactory” evidence to establish that the accused persons belonged to the SIMI and had gathered to promote the activities of the banned outfit.
The court said the accused persons cannot be held guilty under the UAPA.
As many as 127 persons were arrested by Surat’s Athwalines police on December 28, 2001 under various sections of the UAPA for allegedly being members of the banned outfit SIMI and organising a meeting at a hall in city’s Sagrampura to promote and expand the organisation’s activities.
The central government had through its notification dated September 27, 2001 banned SIMI.
The accused belonged to different parts of Gujarat as well as from Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
In their defence, they said they did not belong to the SIMI and had gathered there to participate in a seminar organised under the banner of All India Minority Education Board.
They said they were in the city for religious and educational purposes to take part in a seminar in a peaceful manner.
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Unfortunate but true the delays in judicial system suit most other than the genuinely honest and innocent.
The investigator can behave at will because by the time the decision comes he is not there to be held to account.
The prosecutor can easily blame the investigator who is not there anymore.
In all this the Judge who was probably not even born at the time the crime took place is expected to decide, on the basis of 20,30,40 thousand of documents, with most of the people claiming not to remember anything after such a long gap.
Creating that doubt for ” beyond reasonable doubt” becomes that much easier so ensure that one innocent does not get punished many guilty can be set free. AND THAT IS HOW IT SHOULD BE.
Solution:
1. Improve quality of investigation by making the investigator accountable. Do not encourage B/S Baffles brains approach.
2. Illegal detention must have costs attached to it not to be born by the taxpayer.
3. Make detaining expensive by enhancing quality of detention centers,
Judicial improvements will automatically.
What a tragedy and shame that these perfectly ordinary harmless people attending a seminar were kept in prison for 20 years while our courts decided . Could they not have been acquitted after a year or so ?
No wonder India is gradually losing its tag of a “free ” nation over the past few decades with more draconian laws being passed.
Events from the past illustrate that any internal dissent can sustain only with help from outside the state. The break up of the Soviet Union may be one odd example to the contrary. When there is meeting of “suspects” belonging to different parts of Gujarat as well as from Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, without sufficient reasons, you can’t fault the authorities for investigating. But that it takes so long for such cases to be decided, not even finally as appeals are allowed, is a stigma on the judicial system.
The people and media question issues actually of little consequence, like Masjid and Mandir (tongue in cheek), but fail to discuss revamping systems as part of Nation building. We have many “experts” discussing how we should defend our Nation!!! We have very few discussions on the Judiciary – not faulting what is there but bringing in what is not there.
Tail piece: Media, there are many real issues out there , other than religion, caste and politics .