New Delhi, Aug 10 (IANS) A court her on Wednesday upheld a Juvenile Justice Board order sentencing a minor from Kashmir, who had sent emails to media houses immediately after the 2011 Delhi High Court blast, to three years' in a special home.
Additional Sessions Judge Rakesh Pandit upheld the Juvenile Justice Board order delivered on July 9, 2014.
At least 15 people were killed and 79 injured on September 7, 2011, in the explosion outside Gate Number 5 of the court complex here.
According to National Investigation Agency (NIA), the blast took place at around 10.14 a.m. on September 7 which was a Wednesday, a day specifically assigned for hearing public interest litigations and there was a relatively greater rush at the court.
Explosives were placed in a briefcase at the then High Court reception outside Gate Number 5 where hundreds of people throng every day to attend court cases.
The NIA in March 2012 filed a chargesheet against six accused, including Wasim Akram Malik, Amir Abbas Dev and the juvenile. Malik and Dev were arrested in September 2011.
The minor, who was pursuing his school studies at Kishtwar in Kashmir, was arrested on September 13, 2011 for sending an email to media houses claiming responsibility for the blast and also threatening to cause more bomb blasts at other courts, if Afzal Guru (prime accused in the 2001 Parliament House attack) was hanged.
According to the NIA, the email was sent by the juvenile from Kishtwar.
According to the minor's defence counsel, Mehmood Pracha and R.H.A. Sikander, he was around 17 years old at the time of arrest, and has now turned 22.
The minor came in contact with Dev who motivated him for Jihad.
Later, Dev turned approver in the case and revealed that the minor agreed to send the mail as he wanted Rs 12,000 for the treatment of his friend.
The sessions court relied upon the statement of pardoned witness, Dev, which confirmed that the juvenile from the beginning had knowledge of the conspiracy of the blast.
"Prosecution was able to prove that Juvenile was the sender of the incriminating emails. The same were sent after the occurrence of the bomb blast. The emails show that there was a purpose and also a responsibility was taken regarding the occurrence of bomb blast," the sessions court said.
The court said that "sending the emails were in itself part of the conspiracy from the very beginning".
The court turned down the pleas of the minor's defence counsel that the prosecution case was based on circumstantial evidence and they were seeking to re-examine some of the prosecution witnesses again.
The court set aside the revision plea filed by the juvenile and upheld the Juvenile Justice Board order, which sentenced him to three years' in a special home.
The sessions court found the juvenile guilty of offences under Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) read with Sections 121 (waging war against the country), 121 A (conspiracy to commit waging war), 122 (collecting arms for waging war), 123 (concealing with intent to facilitate design to wage war), 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 325 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt), 436 (mischief by explosive substance), and 440 (mischief committed for causing death) of the Indian Penal Code and under various section of the Explosive Substances Act.
But the court acquitted him of the charges dealing with Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Acts.
The other accused in the case are Malik's brother and alleged Hizb-ul Mujahideen terrorist Junaid Akram Malik, Shakir Hussain Seikh alias Chhota Hafiz and Amir Kamal. Malik is on the run while other two were killed in a gunbattle with security force.
