No double jeopardy for Asghar, Rauf: HC

Ahmedabad: Gujarat high court on Wednesday rejected the state government's appeal against a Pota court order to drop charges against two accused Asghar Ali and Mohammed Rauf in the 2003 ISI conspiracy that was allegedly hatched to avenge the post-Godhra riots.
In 2007, the Pota court dropped charges of waging war against the state and criminal conspiracy against the duo after they were tried and convicted in the Haren Pandya murder case.
The Pota court had convicted 12 persons including Hyderabad resident Asghar Ali and Rauf for killing Pandya. They had sought discharge from the ISI conspiracy case on the ground that both cases were based on same set of evidence and they could not be tried for the same case twice.
The Pota court had upheld their arguments and discharged them from the ISI conspiracy case, which is also known as larger conspiracy to avenge the 2002 riots.
They also contended that Pandya's murder was projected as outcome of the larger conspiracy. They argued that trying them twice would amount to double jeopardy.
When the Pota court dropped their names form the list of accused, the state government moved the HC in 2008 seeking their prosecution in the conspiracy case.
After hearing their lawyer B M Gupta, a bench headed by Justice K S Jhaveri concluded that trying the duo in ISI conspiracy case would be double jeopardy. The HC rejected the state government's appeal.
Meanwhile, Asghar Ali, Rauf and 10 others were acquitted by the high court in Pandya's murder. The CBI has filed an appeal in the Supreme Court.
A Pota court convicted 22 persons to 10 years jail term in 2010 in the ISI conspiracy case and acquitted other 22 accused.
Out of them, 21 convicts admitted to guilt later and the HC reduced their jail term.