SC shifts trial of 36 Burmese to Kolkata

Syed Ali Mujtaba
Mizzima News: 12 September, 2006 

The Supreme Court of India on Monday shifted the trial of 36 Burmese nationals from a court in Andaman and Nicobar Islands to Kolkata due to its inordinate delay for want of adequate legal assistance to accused in Port Blair.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice Y K Sabharwal, Justice C K Thakker and Justice P K Balasubramanyan transferred the case from a session court in Port Blair to Kolkata.

Taking into account the delay in trial and the long lapse during which a defence counsel was also murdered, the Bench said “we are of the view that the case deserves to be transferred from Port Blair to Kolkata.”

The Bench also took cognizance of advocate Kamini Jaiswal’s plea that she had instructions from at least 23 accused for shifting the trial out of Port Blair.

The Bench directed expeditious trial of the case preferably on day-to-day basis and specifically stated that all the accused should be kept in judicial custody.

Indian Army during its "Operation Leech" in 1998 claimed to have busted a gun-running racket with the arrest 82 people. Later 46 of them were released as they were found to be fishermen.

The investigation of the case was handed over to the CBI that had filed a chargesheet in December 2004.

However, inordinate delay in the trial led to the moving of the Supreme Court that ordered the transfer the case to Kolkata.