SC grants bail to 8 in 1987 Hashimpura massacre case

Hashimpura massacre occurred on May 22, 1987. File pic

The Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to eight convicts in the infamous 1987 Hashimpura case involving the massacre of 38 persons by the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) personnel. A bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih took note of the submissions of senior advocate Amit Anand Tiwari, appearing for four convicts, that they were suffering prolonged incarceration after the Delhi High Court reversed their acquittal by the trial court in the case.

On Friday, senior advocate Tiwari, while representing Sami Ullah, Niranjan Lal, Mahesh Prasad, and Jaipal Singh, argued the appellants had been in jail for over six years since the high court verdict. He highlighted that the appellants were previously acquitted by the trial court and their conduct during the trial, and appeal process, was exemplary.

He further contended that the reversal of the trial court's well-reasoned acquittal by the high court was based on erroneous grounds. Taking note of the submissions, the SC allowed the pending bail pleas of eight convicts. The massacre occurred on May 22, 1987 when PAC personnel, belonging to the 41st Battalion's "C-Company", allegedly rounded up 50 Muslim men from Hashimpura in Meerut, following communal tensions.

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever