BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court acquitted three individuals, including a Pakistani national, who were serving life sentences in a 2012 terror conspiracy case linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
A division bench comprising Justices Sreenivas Harish Kumar and JM Khazi ruled that the prosecution’s evidence against Syed Abdul Rehman from Bengaluru, Afsar Pasha from Chintamani in Chikkaballapur, and Mohd Fahad Khoya from Karachi was insufficient to prove their involvement in waging war against the state. They had previously been convicted of criminal conspiracy and waging war under the UAPA and Explosive Act.
While the court upheld Rehman’s conviction under the Arms Act and the Explosive Substances Act for illegal firearm possession, it highlighted significant procedural flaws in the prosecution’s case. The case stemmed from a tip-off received by crime branch inspector K C Ashokan on May 7, 2012, alleging that Rehman had been introduced to LeT operatives through Pasha and Khoya, whom he met while incarcerated in Bengaluru on unrelated charges.
The prosecution alleged a conspiracy orchestrated by LeT to recruit Muslim youth for terrorist activities, including bombings in Bengaluru. However, a trial court had sentenced the trio to life imprisonment and additional terms of 5 to 10 years under the UAPA and the Explosive Substances Act.
In their appeal, the division bench noted that the UAPA case had not been referred to an independent review authority, as required by law. “This omission renders the sanction order (to invoke UAPA) invalid, a factor the trial court overlooked,” they stated. The judges emphasized that “mere meetings” in jail and call details were insufficient to establish a conspiracy, concluding that the evidence did not support their conviction. The court also ordered the state government to deport Khoya back to Pakistan.
