A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Tuesday allowed examination of a witness in the Kashmir terror recruitment case during the hearing of appeals filed against the Ernakulam National Investigation Agency Special Court verdict that convicted 13 persons.
The Bench of Justices K. Vinod Chandran and C. Jayachandran allowed the examination of a BSNL official who had issued a call record showing communication between the accused and some persons in Kashmir.
Five acquitted
The case related to the recruitment of persons from Kerala for terror camps in Jammu and Kashmir. Thirteen persons were convicted and five were acquitted in the case. The terror recruitment case came to light in 2008 when security forces in Kashmir shot down some suspected terrorists, among whom four were Kerala youths.
The High Court usually evaluated the evidence produced before the trial court during the hearing of appeals and rarely allowed examination of witnesses. However, the Bench had summoned a BSNL official who had issued a call record showing communication between the accused and some persons in Kashmir. The official was examined by Assistant Solicitor General S. Manu as it was contended that the official had not legally attested the call records.
Order reserved
The Bench reserved its verdict on the appeals filed by the NIA as well as the convicts.
