Samjhauta blast: Court dismisses plea to put NIA facts

A special court in Panchkula Wednesday adjourned the Samjhauta train blast case till November 24 dismissing the defence plea that National Investigation Agency should put on record all facts pertaining to the case.

Arguments on framing of charges will now be taken up on the next date of hearing, NIA Special Prosecutor RK Handa said after NIA Special Judge Subhash Mehla adjourned the case.

Handa said outside the court that right wing Hindu group member Aseemanand's counsel had last month submitted a plea before the court that NIA be directed to produce documents that claim to have revelations of 26/11 terror accused David Coleman Headley's wife and that of Students Islamic Movement of India "showing Headley and SIMI's hand in the cross-border train's bombings."

The defence had pleaded that NIA be directed to produce the documents of the US agency FBI with regards to Headley's investigation and another report where SIMI is claimed to have confessed responsibility in the (train) bombings, he said.

"Today, NIA filed its reply and opposed the defence plea tooth and nail, submitting that their application is not maintainable and its a premature exercise," Handa said.

Since the proceedings in the case are held in-camera, Handa said later that averments made in accused Aseemanand's application "are based on inadmissible evidence, either hearsay or on reference of press clippings, which are not admissible per se in court of law".

"The accused requires facts to be proved at appropriate stage when he will lead the defence evidence in the Court. At the stage of framing of charges, the accused has neither the right to produce either any document in court himself nor can he seek directions for production of documents from the prosecution agency, which are not part of the investigations and further also cannot seek directions from the court to the NIA to further investigate the matter as desired by the accused," Handa said.

He said after hearing the arguments, the Judge dismissed the accused's plea and adjourned the case.

After the court proceedings on the previous date of hearing on October 10, Aseemanand's counsel had said, "All these documents were necessary to be brought on record."

Handa said that NIA had earlier submitted that the defence was only adopting delaying tactics as their averments are totally vague and hearsay.

"We had also submitted that this (Special) Court would not have jurisdiction to summon some of the records from the US," he said.

On September 28, the special court had allowed NIA, probing Samjhauta train blast case, to send the material evidence collected for examination to Hyderabad-based Central Forensic Sciences Laboratory.

The NIA had sought permission to allow CFSL experts to take material evidence of the Samjhauta Express case to Hyderabad facility for comparison with other samples collected in Malegaon, Hyderabad and Ajmer bomb blasts cases, in which the role of a right-wing activist is suspected.

After a four-year probe, the NIA had on June 20, charged Aseemanand, Sunil Joshi (now dead), Lokesh Sharma, Sandeep Dange and Ramchandra Kalasangra alias Ramji with triggering explosions in the cross-border Samjhauta Express that left 68 people dead, mostly Pakistanis.

In the charge sheet filed in June before the vacation court of additional district and sessions judge here, Kanchan Mahi, the NIA had accused the five of hatching a criminal conspiracy which resulted in bomb blasts in the train.

Aseemanand and Sharma are already in judicial custody in Ambala jail.

Apart from Ajmer Dargah blast, which claimed three lives and left 15 others injured, Aseemanand and Sharma are accused in several other blast cases across the country, including those at Hyderabad's Mecca Masjid and Malegaon.