5 get lifer in Jubilee Hills blast case

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">HYDERABAD: A division bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, comprising Justice Bilal Nazki and Justice G Raghuram, on Friday enhanced the sentence of five Jubilee Hills blast case accused to life imprisonment.<br />The bench was dealing with appeals filed by the accused and the government. While it dismissed the appeal filed by the government against the acquital of some of the accused, it enhanced the sentence of five out of the 14 accused to life imprisonment.<br />Following the bomb blast on Nov. 19, 1999 at Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad, to assassinate former minister Paritala Ravi, the prosecution charge sheeted 21 persons with 83 charges under the Indian Penal Code and Arms Act. <br />Fourteen of the accused were tried in the lower court which convicted six for their involvement in the plot. The six were G Suryanarayana Reddy alias Suri, N Dasari Reddy, Vasudeva Reddy, R Ananda Reddy, and Laxmi Reddy who were handed a sentence of 14 years, and S Pavan Kumar, who was sentenced to life imprisonment.<br />As a consequence of the bomb blast, which was directed at the former minister and film star Mohan Babu, 25 persons, including several members of a camea team of Eenadu TV were killed.<br />In a judgement of about 138 pages, the bench, speaking through Justice Nazki, considered various aspects including the movements of the accused prior to the date of the offence, purchase of a car and the explosive material, preparation of the bombs, and the presence of some of the accused in the city on the relevant day.<br /><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">Writ against NSL units sale dismissed</span><br />In another ruling, Justice V V S Rao cleared the decks for the sale of three units of the Nizam Sugar Factory. The judge dismissed a writ petition filed by Goldstone Exports Limited challenging the sale in favour of Delta Paper Mills Limited on various grounds. <br />The judge culled out seven issues and found in favour of the decision. The factor that the succeeding party had offered a higher bid by Rs 12 crore also found favour with the court. </div> </div>