New Delhi, May 9
The Supreme Court today set aside a Delhi High Court order holding that the intercepted telephonic conversations among Parliament attack accused were not “admissible” evidence under POTA.

A Bench comprising Mr Justice S.N. Variava and Mr Justice Brijesh Kumar said such a finding on the merits of the case during the pendency of trial proceedings by the High Court was incorrect.

Mr Justice M.A. Khan had ruled that the intercepts were not made strictly as per the provisions laid down under Section 45 of POTA.

Setting aside the High Court’s July 11, 2002 order, which was given six months before the trial court judgment sentencing to death three accused in the case, the Bench said the High Court had wrongly interfered on the merits of the case at that stage.

A Special Court had sentenced to death Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists Mohammed Afzal and Shaukat Hussain Guru and suspended city college lecturer S.A.R. Gilani under POTA and the Indian Penal Code on December 18 last year, while Guru’s wife, Navjot Sandhu, was sentenced to five year’s imprisonment on December 18 last year.

While the four have challenged their conviction in appeal before the High Court, the Delhi police has sought capital punishment to the three male convicts under those provisions of law in which they had been given life term for various connected offences.