Below we reproduce the text of the memorandum which the CPI(M) delegation submitted on November 17, 2012, to the president of India. It was signed by Prakash Karat, general secretary of the CPI (M).
I WRITE to draw your attention to the grave miscarriage of justice to scores of Muslim youth who were and are being wrongly arrested and charged in cases related to terror attacks in different parts of the country. In some cases these young men have been incarcerated for ten to fourteen years as undertrials and then finally acquitted by the courts as being innocent. Several reliable groups of concerned citizens and organisations who have collected the details of these cases, have revealed how the court judgements themselves have strongly indicted the investigation agencies for the biased mentality against the Muslim youth and in several cases the manipulation and presentation of concocted evidence against innocent young men. It would appear that the investigation agencies are more driven by the requirement to show “results” in their investigation rather than to ensure that it is the actual culprits who are caught.
Muslim youth are the most vulnerable targets today. The draconian provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) are used to deny the normal processes of justice, while there is no time bound procedure for the judicial processes. There is a growing feeling of fear and apprehension on the one hand and anger on the other that innocents are being implicated. Young lives have been destroyed, families stricken, forced into social isolation, driven into debt to pay the huge expenditures in legal fees — the terrible conditions caused by State led injustice.
As an illustration, the cases of the four young men Md Aamir from Delhi, Syed Maqbool from Srinagar, Wasif Haider and Mumtaz Ahmed from Uttar Pradesh are presented before you. They were arrested arbitrarily when they were just eighteen or nineteen years of age, implicated in dozens of cases, incarcerated for over ten years and each one of them was, as held by the courts, innocent. They are today without jobs, considered unemployable, with dark and uncertain futures.
While no quarter can be given to any individual or group which is responsible for dastardly terror attacks, the arrest of innocent Muslim youth has reached serious dimensions, which requires immediate attention. It is a blot on the principles of secular democracy. At the same time, the arrest of innocent people means that the actual culprits go free. There are four aspects, which require to be looked at:
1) Compensation to and rehabilitation of the innocents. While in some cases, with the intervention of the Minority Rights Commission and other agencies, some monetary compensation may have been given in a few cases, by and large most of the victims of State injustice are in a terrible condition. It is essential to ensure justice by providing compensation as well as the means towards a livelihood through provision of employment or any other avenue suggested by the victim.
2) The provision of special courts with time-bound procedures is essential so as to end the sometimes deliberate prolonging of the cases. All such cases should be settled in a year.
3) In cases where the court has held that evidence has been concocted or misrepresented by the investigating agencies to implicate innocents, action must be taken against those responsible. This will act as a deterrent in the deliberate implication of innocents.
4) We believe also that the draconian provisions in the UAPA must be reconsidered. At the time of the passage of the bill in parliament the CPI(M) had warned of the consequences of keeping such provisions on the statute book akin to TADA and POTA. Experience has shown the legitimacy of the apprehensions expressed at that time.
We request you to take up these issues urgently with the government of India. We also enclose relevant information and documents with further details.
Annexure
Examples of some of the cases of acquittal and discharge of youth wrongfully charged and incarcerated
1) Mohd Marouf Qaamar (Delhi): Acquitted on 11.11.2008, Tis Hazari Court Delhi.
2) Tariq Ahmad Dar (Kashmir): Discharged in a 2006 case in Tis Hazari Court, Delhi.
3) Tasleem (Muradabad, UP): Discharged and Released in a 1998 case in Tis Hazari Court No 19, Delhi.
4) Najeem (Muradabad, UP): Discharged and released in a 1998 case in Tis Hazari Court No 19, Delhi.
5) Shamim Akhtar (Kolkata): Discharged and Released in a 1998 case in Tis Hazari Court No 19, Delhi.
6) Syed Maqbool Shah (Kashmir): Acquitted on 08.04.2010, in a Patiala House Court, New Delhi case.
7) Mohd Aamir Khan (Delhi): Acquitted in 17 cases (Delhi and NCR), released on 09.01.2012.
8) Haroon Rashid (Bihar): Acquitted on January 2010, in a Tis Hazari Court, Delhi case.
9) Dilawar Khan (Orissa): Acquitted on January 2010, in a Tis Hazari Court, Delhi case.
10) Salman Khurshid Kori (Manipur): Acquitted on 14.12.2011, in a Tis Hazari Court, Delhi case.
11) Syed Mubarak (Sitapur, UP): Acquitted in a case in Bareilly district court, UP.
12) Abdul Mubeen (Siddharth Nagar): Acquitted in a case in Agra district court, UP.
13) Ghulam Mohd (Kanpur): Acquitted on 12.08.2009, in a case in Kanpur City, UP.
14) Sajjad-ul-Thman (Kishtuwar): Dischargede on 14.04.2011 in a Case of Lucknow, UP.
15) Mumtaz Ahmad (Sopur): Acquitted on 06.08.2003 in a case of GRP, Kanpur, UP.
16) Faheem Ansari (Maharashtra): Acquitted in a case of Mumbai, on 26.11.2008, from Sessions Court and Supreme Court.
17) Sabauddin (UP): Acquitted on a case of Mumbai, on 26.11.2008, from Session Court and Supreme Court!
18) Jogeshvari railway station case in Mumbai, Maharashtra: Two persons acquitted.
19) Tilak Nagar railway station case in Mumbai, Maharashtra: Two persons discharged and two acquitted.
20) Ghaatkopar, 2003 case of Mumbai, Maharashtra: Nine persons acquitted.
21) Gateway of India Case of Mumbai, Maharashtra: Two persons acquitted.
22) Rehmana Farooqui: Acquitted by Delhi High Court in 2007 in 2000 Red Fort case.
