1993 blast: Sentencing process to resume

Mumbai, July 16: The process of awarding sentences upon the 1993 Mumbai serial blast convicts will resume from tomorrow as the TADA court today rejected a plea by 16 of the blast convicts who had questioned the Constitutional validity of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act.

The court had earlier rejected their plea challenging the validity of TADA following which the 16 had again moved the court pleading for a stay on the award of further sentences as they wanted to challenge the TADA court order in the Supreme Court.

TADA court judge P D Kode, however, rejected the second plea too while observing that the Constitutional validity of TADA has already been upheld by a larger bench of the Supreme Court and the convicted persons could raise the same point when challenging the punishment awarded to them in the Apex court.

The Central Bureau of Investigation had strongly opposed the plea by the 16 blast convicts for a stay on the on-going sentencing process.

Arguing on behalf of the CBI, special public prosecutor Ujwal Nikam contended that the court had rightly rejected the plea as that would have simply lead to wasting the court's time.

He also said granting time to the convicts could influence the ongoing process of pronouncing punishment upon the remaining 24 convicts.

Meanwhile, film actor Sanjay Dutt and his three friends appeared before the court today and were directed to present themselves again on July 21.

The court has summoned seven convicted persons tomorrow who include planters of the explosives.

UNI