Twenty years after tonnes of RDX exploded through the heart of Mumbai and killed 257 persons, nearly 100 perpetrators and conspirators finally lost their legal battles in the Supreme Court on Thursday.
A key mastermind Yakub Abdul Razzak Memon got capital punishment, 33 received life terms, and remaining others got varying terms of imprisonment. The nemesis also caught up with “Munnabhai” Sanjay Dutt, who was sentenced to five years of imprisonment under the Arms Act for possession of illegal weapons. Sanjay has already spent 18 months in jail. The court gave him four weeks to surrender after which he would serve the remaining term of three-and-a-half years.
For the actor, a window of hope is still left open if the State Government grants him remission of his remaining sentence. In his appeal before the apex court, Dutt had hoped to be released under the Probation of Offenders Act, a law under which a first time offender’s good conduct can allow him to walk out of jail.
The Bench of Justices P Sathasivam and BS Chauhan refused this plea.
“The circumstances and the nature of the offence as analysed and discussed above are so serious and we are of the view that they do not warrant A-117 (Dutt) the benefit of the provisions of the Probation of Offenders Act.”
He was held guilty under Section 3, 7, 25 (1-A), (1-B)(a) of Arms Act for illegally possessing an AK-56 rifle and a 9 mm pistol.
In an exhaustive judgment, the SC Bench commuted the death sentences of 10 other convicts. The court said it wanted to punish the “architect” of the attacks and not the executors, who went and parked the explosive-laden vehicles at 12 locations on March 12, 1993.
Tracing the widespread phenomenon of terrorist attacks across the globe, the bench noted how India has repeatedly been the target of terrorist attacks. “Terrorism is a plague for a nation or society that should be eradicated” so that “other groups and people are not motivated to make themselves heard through various acts of terrorism,” the bench said. In the context of India being a secular country, the judges said, “Such religious fanaticism which resulted in such terrorist acts should not be allowed to destroy the very basic structure of our Constitution.”
The magnitude of damage inflicted during the 1993 blasts easily made it the rarest-of-rare case with 257 people dead and 713 injured. This was the first ever terror attack where RDX (explosive) was used on such a large scale after the World War II.
The Special TADA court on September 12, 2006 had convicted 100 persons of whom 12 were sentenced to death and 20 given life terms. Restricting death penalty to Yakub Abdul Razzak Memon, while awarding 33 life term sentences, the apex court was particular to uphold the conviction and sentence of all five members of the Memon family as awarded by the special TADA court.
The court condemned the role played by Pakistan in the attacks and criticised the Mumbai Police and Customs officials for siding with the accused to smuggle in the contraband weapons through the coastline.
The bench felt that Yakub enjoyed a dominating position as against the other death convicts and in many ways proved to be the “driving spirit” behind the attacks. “A-1 (Yakub Memon) assumed the role of Tiger Memon in India during his absence.
As an outcome, Tiger Memon gave the commands to A-1, who in turn had passed them to other accused thereby signifying the trusted position that A-1 has obtained from Tiger Memon, apart from being just a younger brother.” He was even present in the planning meeting on January 6, 1993 at a Mumbai hotel and played key role in generating and managing funds for the attack.
His role in arranging trips for the accused to get weapons training in Pakistan and for safe keeping the bags containing explosives also went against him. The court compared his role in the case with that of an “archer” while equating the other death convicts to be mere “arrows” who were subservient subjects following the commands of the real conspirators which included Tiger Memon, Dawood Ibrahim, Anees Ibrahim and the appellant.
The court thought it fit to commute the death penalty to life for the remaining 10 death convicts as their poor socio-economic condition prevailed with the court to grant them a reprieve. Although the bench clarified that its decision in no way sought to exonerate or excuse their participation in the crime, it was of the view, “their participation in the massacres resulted from misguided notions rather than extremism.”
‘Shattered’ Sanjay to respect verdict
Mumbai: On a day when a “heart-broken” and “shattered” Sanjay Dutt struggled to take the Supreme Court’s verdict in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts case in his stride. Fifty-three-year-old Sanjay remained closeted with his family members in his Pali Hill Pent House residence at Bandra in north-west Mumbai all through Thursday, even as several of his close friends and Bollywood personalities visited him and comforted him in his hour of grief. “If they want me to suffer more I have to be strong. I have always respected the judicial system and will continue to do so, even with tears in my eyes,” Dutt said in a statement.
Rs250 crore at stake in Bollywood
Mumbai: The sentencing of Sanjay Dutt has sent shock waves through the Mumbai film industry. Analysts say over Rs 250 crore are riding over Sanjay Dutt. Trade analyst Amod Mehra said, “While approximately films worth Rs 250 crore were under production with him, money is not a question here. It is a big jolt to the industry. He is one of the prominent personality in the film fraternity. Everyone had forgotten about the charges and the verdict has come as a rude awakening call and shock for the whole industry.” At present, one of his films is ready to release in May, while Policegiri was to be released in July.
With Aamir Khan, his film PK is 50 per cent complete. There are also films like Karan Johar’s Unglee which is 25- 30 per cent done, Mehra informed.
SC raps terror machine Pak
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday held Pakistan responsible for staging the 1993 serial blasts in Mumbai, saying the neighbour’s conduct violated all recognised principles of international law. The court pointed out that all the accused, many of whom had no prior training to handle weapons or explosives, received specialised training in handling explosives, AK-47 and AK-56, and grenades from Pakistan’s intelligence wing ISI at the behest of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and his associates.