Creating fear to stop people helping law is a terror act: Supreme Court
NEW DELHI: Indicating that an offence cannot be said to be a terror act only if an accused is convicted under an anti-terror law, Supreme Court on Tuesday said creating an atmosphere of fear to prevent people from taking the side of law by killing an army informer is also a terrorist act despite anti-terror law not being invoked in the case.
A bench comprising Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and S V N Bhatti did not agree that the killing of three civilians, including the army informer, in J&K with an AK-47 was not a terror act because the conviction was not secured under an anti-terror law, and expressed its reservation in entertaining a remission plea of a convict who has spent 27 years in jail in the case.
Prisoner Ghulam Mohammad Bhat took the stand that he was not convicted under an anti-terror law, but only under the Indian Penal Code for murder, and therefore, his act cannot be termed a terrorist act.
The J&K government told SC that a convict undergoing life imprisonment for a terror act was not entitled for remission under state policy.
Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for the prisoner, said Bhat was convicted only under IPC section 302 (murder) and the Arms Act, and not under the then anti-terror legislation TADA. "Nothing was proved in court to attract TADA provisions. The trial court or the HC never found it to be a terrorist act," he said.
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Additional solicitor general K M Natraj, appearing for the J&K government, submitted that explosive devices, including a weapon to launch grenades, were also reportedly recovered from the scene of incident and it was an act of terror, it was not a simple murder.
Agreeing with Gonsalves, the bench said, "If you want to create fear among people to ensure that no one approaches authorities against the illegal act then it is a terror act and we cannot close our eyes. "This was done to create havoc to ensure that no one dares to side with the law, then it certainly carries the characteristics of a terrorist act and remission cannot be granted under the policy. You have to challenge the remission policy.
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SC, however, allowed Gonsalves's plea to be allowed to challenge the J&K remission policy within the ongoing proceedings.
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