HC sets aside objections of suspects in 3 terror cases

The state had challenged an order passed by the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate who had conducted an inquiry against Sathe and 23 others for allegedly beating up 15 accused in the Aurangabad arms haul of 2006,ten accused in the 7/11 train bomb blasts and seven in the Malegaon bomb blasts of 2006,while they were being gathered to be moved to other prisons in the state on June 28,2008.

Lawyer Yug Chaudhry,who represented the accused with lawyers Khan Abdul Wahab and Sharif Sheikh,told the court that the state cannot defend prison officers who were accused of beating up accused in jail. Chaudhry pointed out that the state government in this case would be the authority granting sanction for the prosecution of these officers as well as the prosecuting agency.

Justice Dharmadhikari,however,observed that the state government alone was not the petitioner in the case,the officers concerned were also petitioners.

Jail officials had questioned the special MCOCA court directing the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate to order an inquiry into the alleged assault on prisoners.

The challenge

The state had challenged an order passed by the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate who had conducted a probe against Sathe and 23 others for allegedly beating up 15 accused in the Aurangabad arms haul of 2006,ten accused in the 7/11 train bomb blasts and seven in the Malegaon bomb blasts of 2006,while they were being gathered to be moved to other prisons in the state on June 28,2008.