Chennai, Sept 1:
The Madras High Court has directed the Centre and the Tamil Nadu government to take steps to set up a Special Court to try cases under the National Investigtion Agency (NIA) Act for expediting trial in terrorism-related cases and under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
The directive was issued by a Division Bench: of Justices Ms.Anita Sumanth and Justice Sunder Mohan on a bail plea filed by one of the accused.in the 2022 Deepavali eve Coimbatore car bomb blast in which the lone suicide bomber Jameesha Mubeen was killed. The probe taken up by the NIA later revealed the incident was a terror act.
The court suo motu impleaded the Union Home Ministry Secretary and the Tamil Nadu government Additional Chief Secretary as parties to the case and directed them to file their responses and a compliance report regarding the setting up of exclusive special courts to expedite terrorism-related trials and posted the matter to September 24, for next hearing.
On October 23, 2022, a Maruti car exploded in front of the Arulmigu Kottai Sangameshwarar Temple at Ukkadam in Coimbatore in which Jameesha Mubeen, who was driving the car, was killed in the blast. The case is being investigated by the NIA.
Mohamed Thalha, the third accused, was arrested and remanded in judicial custody on charges that he had purchased the car used in the attack. He approached the High Court challenging the order of the Poonamallee Special Court rejecting his bail petition.
Hearing the plea, the Division Bench dismissed the petition and noted the material indicating his participation in a conspiracy meeting held before the attack, as well as the presence of pro-ISIS views and evidence in his electronic devices.
Referring to the Supreme Court’s directions that the pace and progress of trials relating to the NIA Act should necessarily be expedited, the Bench directed the Union government to constitute exclusive courts to hear NIA cases in the State.