1993 Mumbai blast accused Mustafa Dossa leaves from Arthur Road Jail for TADA court hearing in Mumbai on Monday. Express Photo By Ganesh Shirsekar
The TADA court on Monday adjourned the arguments on quantum of punishment in the 1993 Mumbai blasts case for Tuesday in which Abu Salem and five others have been convicted, reported news agency ANI. The court rejected defence lawyer Abdul Wahab’s application requesting two weeks’ time to prepare the arguments on the quantum of sentence.
Wahab had moved an application before the court for permission to examine three witnesses for defence of his client, Feroz Khan. While the court accepted the application and allowed him to examine the witnesses, it did not grant him two weeks for preparation of arguments stating the urgency of the matter.
Meanwhile, the CBI lawyer said he will argue for extreme punishment for convicts in the case. Besides Salem, Mustafa Dossa, Abu Salem, Taher Merchant, Feroz Abdul Rashid Khan, Karimullah Khan and Riyaz Siddiqui – were convicted in the case on Friday on charges of criminal conspiracy.
Another accused in the case, Abdul Qayyum Sheikh, who was arrested by the Mumbai police in 2007, was acquitted by the court. The judgment was passed by a special court. The trial of these seven accused was separated from the rest as they were arrested during and after the end of the earlier trial between 2003 and 2010 in TADA court. At least 257 persons were killed and 713 injured in serial blasts that rocked Mumbai on March 12, 1993.
