Chennai: An advocate approached the Madras high court opposing a plea to direct state government to consider S.A.Basha, a life convict in the 1998 Coimbatore serial bomb blast cases, for premature release on humanitarian grounds.
A division bench comprising Justices Nooty Ramamohana Rao and S.M.Subramaniam, before whom the petition was filed by K.Gopinath, general secretary of the Hindu Munnetra Kalagam, came up for hearing, adjourned it by a weeks. In his petition, Gopinath from Tirupur, sought to implead himself in the petition filed by B.Mubeena, daughter of Basha.
In her petition, Mubeena submitted that state government had framed a scheme of premature release of life convicts who had completed 20 years of actual imprisonment on humanitarian grounds under Article 161 of the Constitution. Her father was eligible to be considered for premature release under the scheme since he had already completed more than 22 years of actual imprisonment.
Opposing her plea, Gopinath submitted that a total of 60 persons were killed and more than 300 persons injured in 12 bomb blasts in 11 places on February 14, 1998.
A committee headed by Justice P.R.Gopalakrishnan, which probed the serial bomb blasts, had confirmed that the terrorist organization Al-Umma was responsible for the same and his report was placed before government. After trial, S.A.Basha, the prime accused was found guilty and awarded life sentence. Therefore, in order to safeguard peace and harmony of the nation, and for the welfare of the people of Coimbatore and Tirupur, the petition filed by Mubeena should be dismissed, he added.
