New Delhi: The Supreme Court has refused to stay the Rajasthan high court’s acquittal of the 2008 Jaipur serial blasts accused, and said the four acquitted accused must be released. “How can the accused be kept in jail after they have been acquitted?” the bench had asked, according to The New Indian Express.
“We are not inclined to pass the order for keeping them in jail even after their acquittal … Even assuming that you [Attorney General] are right, before passing such a drastic order, we have to go through the entire evidence.”
“We have to hear all of [the acquitted]. We will have to apply our mind in the case,” a bench comprising Justices Abhay S. Oka and Rajesh Bindal said in response to Attorney General R. Venkataramani, according to a Press Trust of India report.
The bench also ordered the four men to register their presence daily at Jaipur’s Anti-Terrorism Squad police station, the same report said.
On March 29, the Rajasthan high court set aside a lower court’s conviction and death sentence to four men in the case. It also upheld the acquittal of a fifth accused and directed an inquiry into the case’s investigating officers.
The top court bench did, however, agree to stay the high court’s direction to probe the involved officers.
In May 2008, a series of bombs exploded in Jaipur’s crowded old city, killing over 70 and injuring 200 people. The bombs went off on a Tuesday, which is a day when many devotees visit a popular shrine in Jaipur’s old city.