The Supreme Court’s latest judgment holding that mere membership of a banned organisation does not make a person criminal has come as reprieve for 14 persons languishing in the Central Jail Jaipur, Rajasthan since their arrest in the aftermath of the May 2008 serial bomb blasts on charges of having links with the outlawed Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI). All 14 accused have been charged with involvement in unlawful activities without any role in the Jaipur blasts. The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of Rajasthan Police claimed that they were rallying support for building a terror network in the State and had attended “terror camps” organised in the Kota region prior to the blasts. Ironically, none of the 35 witnesses presented so far by the prosecution in the fast track Sessions Court during the trial supported the ATS theory and the majority have turned hostile. Twenty-five other witnesses are yet to depose and be examined, even as the lawyers of the accused have described the evidence against them as “frivolous and concocted”.
The Supreme Court on February 3 ruled that mere membership of a banned outfit does not make a person criminal unless he resorts to violence or incites people to violence or creates public disorder by violence or incitement to violence. The Court also cautioned subordinate courts against torture-induced confessions made before the police.