Breaking| [UAPA] Kozhikode Twin Blast: Kerala High Court Acquits Prime Accused Nazeer, Dismisses NIA Appeal Against Acquittal Of Other Accused

The Kerala High Court on Thursday allowed the appeals preferred by Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative Thadiyantevida Nazeer and Shafaz, prime accused in the 2006 Kozhikode twin blast case, thereby acquitting them. 

A Division Bench of Justice Vinod K Chandran and Justice Ziyad Rahman also declined the appeal filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) challenging the trial court's order acquitting two other accused in the case. 

The blast which took place on March 3, 2006 at the Kozhikode Mofussil bus stand and the KSRTC stand, was a rare case where the accused informed the city collectorate and the media about the location of the bombs after planting them. Although it was initially investigated by the local police, the case was taken over by the NIA in 2009. 

Since Nazeer was set to argue his own appeal before the court, he was transported from Bangalore Central Prison at Parappana Agrahara and produced before the court during the first hearing. 

However, since a lawyer also appeared on behalf of Nazeer, a vakalath was signed immediately and he was sent back to prison. The Court also granted him the liberty to watch the proceedings online if he wished so. 

Nazeer and Shafaz, the first and fourth accused in the case, had filed an appeal seeking to quash the life sentence imposed on them by the trial court. They refuted the trial court's finding that they had committed offences under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). 

While the accused had moved the Court alleging that they were innocent, the NIA had also preferred an appeal aggrieved by the trial court's decision acquitting the third and ninth accused in the case, Abdul Halim and Abubaker Yusuf.

The NIA had filed a chargesheet in 2010 under sections of the UAPA, IPC and Explosive Substances Act. after taking over the investigation. According to the chargesheet, on the date of the incident, the local police received phone information from the media that two bombs had been planted at the said sites in the city. 

The police were able to reach on time and evacuate people, minimising damage to life and property. Among the two injured in the blast at the Mofussil bus stand, one was a policeman who was going to check the suspicious bag containing the bomb when it exploded.

The blast was reportedly planned in protest against the denial of bail to some Muslim accused in the 2003 Marad Communal Riots case.

Case Title: Thadiyantevida Nazeer v. State of Kerala & connected matters

Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Ker) 42

Click Here To Read/Download The Judgment