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Mohd. Jalees Ansari & Others v. Central Bureau of Investigation

Criminal Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Criminal Appeal No. 546 of 2004)Decided 11 May 2016
Criminal Appeal No. 546 of 2004
Justice F.M. Ibrahim Kalifulla · Justice Uday Umesh Lalit

Background

This appeal arose from the 1993 serial bomb blasts in several trains (including Rajdhani, Flying Queen, A.P. Express and Bangalore-Kurla Express) across different cities on the night of 5-6 December 1993, which injured multiple passengers. Sixteen persons were originally tried before the Designated Court (TADA) at Ajmer, Rajasthan; some accused were tried separately for unrelated reasons, and the remaining accused (A-1 to A-5, A-7 to A-11, A-13 to A-16) were convicted and sentenced by the Designated Court, leading to this appeal to the Supreme Court under Section 19 of TADA.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court examined, accused by accused, whether each conviction was properly supported by confessions and corroborating evidence under TADA. It affirmed the convictions and sentences of most accused (A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A7, A11, A14, A15 and A16) where the confessional and other evidence was found reliable and corroborated. However, it set aside the convictions of Accused Nos. 8, 9, 10 and 13, holding that the prosecution case against them rested solely on an uncorroborated co-accused confession, which was insufficient to sustain a conviction, and ordered their release unless wanted in another matter. The appeal was accordingly disposed of, partly dismissed and partly allowed.

Lesson Learnt

Even in a serious terrorism prosecution where law permits confessions to the police as evidence, a conviction cannot rest solely on an uncorroborated confession of a co-accused: independent corroboration remains essential before a court will uphold guilt for any individual accused.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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