NEW DELHI: Observing that a fair trial was given even to 26/11 terrorist Ajmal Kasab, Supreme Court on Thursday suggested that a makeshift courtroom could be set up in Tihar jail to physically cross-examine prosecution witnesses in the Rubaiya Sayeed kidnapping case, as CBI said it was not possible to make terror convict Yasin Malik appear in person before a Jammu court for trial.
A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih asked the agency to brief the court about the number of witnesses in the case as protection also has to be provided to them. It also asked CBI to implead all the accused in its petition.
SG Tushar Mehta, appearing for CBI, said cross-examination of prosecution witnesses could be done online. “How will cross-examination be done online? There is hardly any connectivity in Jammu… In our country, a fair trial was given even to Ajmal Kasab and legal aid was given to him in HC,” the bench said.
On Sept 20, 2022, a special TADA court in Jammu had directed Malik to be physically produced before it. CBI challenged the trial court order in SC. Rubaiya was abducted near Lal Ded Hospital in Srinagar on Dec 8, 1989 and freed five days later after then BJP-backed VP Singh govt at Centre released five terrorists.
