SC upholds lifer in RS member murder case

NEW DELHI: The supreme court (SC) confirmed on Wednesday the life imprisonment of seven convicts of murdering former Rajya Sabha member and Gujarat Congress general secretary Abdul Rauf Mohammed Bhai alias Rauf Valiullah.

Applying the same principle as in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, justices BN Agrawal and GS Singhvi dismissed the “relief” appeal of the accused, saying statements recorded under the terrorist and disruptive activities (prevention) Act (Tada) could be used as evidence even if a case was not fit to be a terror-related offence.

The court had held that the assassination of former prime minister Gandhi was not an act of terrorism.

Valiullah was shot dead by a seven-member gang led by Mohammed Faruk in Ahmedabad on October 10, 1992, as the former MP was planning to expose their criminal activities.

The judges held that a confession made by an accused under a Tada provision could be relied upon for conviction under other provisions of the law, even if the accused was acquitted of the charges under the anti-terror law.

The bench agreed with the Gujarat Tada court that convicted the accused on the basis of confessions made under Tada section 15 and provisions of IPC, though they were acquitted under the anti-terror law. The accused were found guilty of gunning down Valiullah, who had prepared a memorandum to be submitted to the central government to expose the criminal-political nexus in the state.