Thadiyantavida Nazeer and two other accused in the Kannur bomb blast case were acquitted by Additional Sessions Judge–IV, as the State failed to issue sanction for prosecuting them under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) within the statutory time limit.
They were also acquitted in the Explosives Substances Act, as the prosecution failed to link them to the offence.
The prosecution case was that the accused persons, who were the members of a terrorist gang and organisation, installed a bomb near the transformer on the north-eastern part of the stadium corner by the side of Jawahar Stadium at Kannur.
Rejecting the prosecution plea, K. Kamanees, the Additional Sessions Judge, noted that the government had to issue sanction for prosecution within seven working days of receiving the recommendation. The court found that the sanction was issued two months after the State Police Chief applied for it. The Special Court could not take cognizance of the offence under the Act if the sanction had not been properly issued by the government. Thus, the court held that the accused could not be found guilty of the offence under the Act.
The court held that the available evidence in the case under the Explosive Substances Act case was insufficient to book the accused persons for possession of any explosive substances, the court held.
Shafas and Rahnas of Kannur were the other accused in the case. Nazeer and Shafas are in custody in the Central Prison, Bangalore, in connection with the Bangalore serial bomb blast cases.
