Aggrieved by his conviction in the 2005 Sarojini Nagar Blast case, Tarique Ahmed Dar, who was found guilty under sections 38 and 39 of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), approached the Delhi High Court challenging his sentence.
"I want the tag of convict off my name. It was unjustified and justice was not delivered to anyone including me and the families of the victims. There was nothing to suggest that I was guilty. So why should I be victim of circumstances and be implicated for being a resident from the Valley," Tarique Ahmed Dar told DNA over phone from Srinagar.
Dar, through his counsel on Monday, filed a petition in the High Court stating that his conviction was erroneous. The plea stated that the sentence was wrong, as the trial court had stated that the prosecution had failed to prove their case.
The petition also alleged that the trial court had made a mistake in coming to a conclusion that Dar was a member of a banned terrorist organisation.
"The same has been based only on presumptions and inferences drawn by the trial court which were not borne out by the evidence on the record," it said.
On February 16, a Delhi court had convicted Dar for being a member of a terror organisation in connection to the Sarojini Nagar blast, sentenced him to 10 years imprisonment, and imposed a fine of Rs 1,00,000. However, he was acquitted of all the charges levelled on him by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police.
According to the petition, Dar's conviction was based on the "alleged intercepted conversation dated November 1, 2005 to November 4, 2005 between the Thoraya satellite number used by Abu-Al Kama, a member of LeT and Dar. However, the prosecution did not submit any evidence to prove the same.
The petition also put the role of Investigating Officer (IO) Sanjeev Kumar Yadav under the scanner stating that the trial court had failed to appreciate that he did not move any application in court or to the FSL or CFSL for recording the voice sample of Dar.
Dar, who was granted bail in a related PMLA case, walked free because he had already served 12 years in jail
Additional Sessions Judge Reetesh Singh had earlier acquitted the other two accused, Rafiq Shah and Mohammad Hussain Fazili after they served 12 years in jail for allegedly carrying out the bomb blasts at Sarojini Nagar Market, Paharganj and Kalkaji. The blasts claimed 67 lives and left over 200 people injured.
