Delhi high court blast: NIA against trial court order

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday moved the Delhi high court challenging the trial court's order dropping the charge of waging war against India against the accused in last year's the high court blast.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday moved the Delhi high court challenging the trial court's order dropping the charge of waging war against India against the accused in last year's the high court blast.

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A bench of justice Sanjiv Khanna and justice SP Garg issued a notice to accused Wasim Akram Malik and sought his response by October 16. The NIA had sought a direction to the trial court to frame charges against him under the harsher penal provision of waging war against India, which attracts the maximum punishment of death penalty.

The NIA sought an order to the special court to modify its September 4 order for framing of charges against Malik under sections 121 (waging war against India), 121-A (conspiracy to wage war), 122 (collecting arms and ammunitions to wage war) and other provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Explosive Substances Act.

The special judge, while dropping the stringent charges, had said more evidence was required to frame charges under those provisions.

"These offences (relating to waging war against country) require something more than the one which is available against the accused. Merely because a bomb had exploded outside the Delhi high court and in the e-mail, there was a reference of release of Afzal Guru, it does not mean that these three offences (of waging war against country) are made out," district judge HS Sharma had said.