ER case accused in remand for twelve years

[TamilNet, Monday, 30 June 2003, 15:53 GMT]
The Eastern High Court Judge, Mr.S.Paramarajah, Monday fixed the inquiry into the bail application of two Tamil men who have been in remand for the last twelve years since their arrest under the Emergency Regulations (ER), on Friday, July 4, legal sources said.

Attorney-at-Law Mr.K.Sivapalan, who appeared for the accused, submitted to court that the wife of the accused was six months pregnant when her husband was arrested in this case. "She gave birth to a son after her husband's arrest. Today she has come to court with her eleven years old son," Counsel Sivapalan submitted to court, legal sources said.

In this case, the Attorney General has indicted Selvam Lingaretnam and Thangaraja Sivakantharajah, both of Muttur in the Eastern province, in the bomb blast that killed six persons on or before 7.8.1990. The first accused was arrested on 18.7.1992 and the second accused on 8.9.1992. Since then, they have been in remand, court sources said.

The names of the six persons killed in the bomb blast were M.A.N.Aliyar Thamby, Pichchaikutty Ansar, Mohideen Ali Akbar., Mohamed Mustapha, M.Haja Mohideen and G.Haralis Piyadasa.

This case came up for inquiry before the Special High Court, which was set up in the Welikada prison on the direction of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to expedite the disposal of several cases filed under the Prevention of Terrorism Act and Emergency Regulations. The evidence of vital witnesses was recorded at the inquiry held at the Special High Court, legal sources said.

Thereafter, the case was transferred to the Eastern High Court on the instruction of the Attorney General, and when the case was taken up for inquiry for the first time at the Trincomalee sessions of the Eastern High Court Monday, Counsel for the accused moved for bail of the accused, stating that the accused have been in remand for the last twelve years.

As the State Counsel, Mr.S.M.Halimdeen, wanted time to file his response to the bail application, the Judge fixed the inquiry on July 4, the sources said.