Jaipur, Nov 6 — A major development emerged on Friday in Rajasthan's high-profile Kanhaiyalal murder case. The accused suffered a major legal setback after the Jaipur Bench of the Rajasthan High Court dismissed all appeals challenging the trial court's orders framing charges against them.
According to officials, a Division Bench comprising Rajasthan High Court Chief Justice, Sanjay K. Agarwal and Justice Samir Jain upheld the validity of the charge-framing orders passed by the Special NIA Court on January 12 and February 13, 2024.
Following the High Court's decision, the trial against the eight key accused will proceed under Sections 16 (terrorist act), 18 (conspiracy) and 20 (membership of a terrorist gang) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), along with other serious provisions of the Indian Penal Code.
Those accused whose appeals were dismissed included Mohammad Riyaz Attari, Mohammad Gaus, Mohsin Khan, Asif Hussain, Mohammad Mohsin, Wasim Ali and Mohammad Javed Khan.
According to preliminary reports, the Division Bench made several significant observations while hearing the appeals. The High Court clarified that the question of an accused person's guilt or innocence cannot be conclusively determined at the initial stage of framing charges. It further observed that the absence of direct or eyewitness evidence of a conspiracy cannot, by itself, be grounds for discharging an accused.
A criminal conspiracy can also be established through the cumulative effect of surrounding circumstances. The court emphasised that the trial court would independently assess all evidence and witness testimonies presented during the trial before reaching its conclusions. The High Court also rejected several arguments advanced by the defence lawyers.
The explanations offered by the accused regarding videos allegedly made by them and online threats were not considered sufficient to grant them relief.
Similarly, the defence argument that the accused had no direct links with any banned terrorist organisation was not accepted as a sufficient ground for removing the UAPA charges.
With the High Court dismissing all eight appeals, the charge-framing orders remain intact, clearing the way for the trial to continue before the Special NIA Court.
The final determination of the accused persons' guilt or innocence will be made by the trial court after examining the evidence and hearing the witnesses.