New Delhi:The Supreme Court Wednesday dismissed bail pleas of some of the convicts in the 1998 Coimbatore bomb blasts case, which left 58 people dead and 250 injured, calling the incident “atrocious” and stressing that the nature of the crime is an important factor while granting bail.
A bench comprising justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, C T Ravikumar and Sudhanshu Dhulia was hearing the application filed by some of the convicts seeking bail. A counsel, representing some of the convicts, while urging the court to grant his clients bail, contended that they are in custody for around 25 years and they have been sentenced to life imprisonment.
The counsel, representing the state government, said apart from killing so many people, what the convicts had done to the city was “unforgivable”. The bench said that the accused had been convicted for something in which 58 people had died and bail was out of the question. The bench said there are two concurrent findings, one by the trial court and the other by the high court, in the case which relates to an “atrocious incident”.
Dismissing the bail pleas, the bench said, “Look at what you have done. The nature of the crime is an important factor (in granting bail)”. While dismissing the bail plea, the apex court said the appeals filed by the convicts challenging the Madras High Court verdict upholding their conviction and sentence be listed for the first week of February 2024.
Declining relief to the accused, the high court had noted the city was subjected to 19 bomb explosions between February 14, 1998, and February 17, 1998, resulting in the death of 58 people and injuries to 250.
